Resource ORAS Good Cores

[Cheryl.]

Offensive Core: Feraligatr + Mega Altaria

Sets

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe or 56 HP / 252 Atk / 200 Spe if running Jolly
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Crunch / Aqua Jet

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Return
- Roost
- Heal Bell / Earthquake

OR

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Return
- Heal Bell

I know this core has probably been posted before, and I know it's in the Old Cores archive, but I'd like to post my version of this core, which I think is the best version of the core imo. Other versions of this core included Dragon Dance Feraligatr, which I agree is a good set but I actually like Swords Dance much more in this meta as DD Gatr really struggles to sweep in a fast, offensive meta like this, and it doesn't do as much damage to bulkier builds as well. SD Gatr is pretty destructive, breaking down balance builds really nicely with it's coverage, and it basically beats everything Mega Altaria hates after a SD boost. At +2, even with a Jolly Nature, Ferrothorn is OHKOed by Superpower, and Feraligatr scares out bulky Ground-types and Fire-types, and can use Crunch to kill Slowbro after Stealth Rock at +2. It pairs with Mega Altaria very well because M-Alt can check the Grass and Electric types that Feraligatr hates to fight, and appreciates how SD Gatr breaks down a lot of her checks and counters, opening up for a Dragon Dance sweep late-game. Offensive DD or King DDD works, I personally like King DDD for the increased bulk allowing it to check stuff better, and Heal Bell is great to set up on stuff like Rotom-Wash and remove any unfortunate Scald burns or Toxic from Feraligatr. Good teammates for this core include Heatran to add a check to Talonflame, a Stealth Rocker, and another check to things like Serperior. Other Pokemon that can check the threats to this core (Weavile, Talonflame, Tornadus-T, Sand) are appreciated as well. Overall, this is a pretty good offensive core that is a common sight when facing a Feraligatr (Except for SD of course), and I hope you all like it! n_n

 

[kek123]

Offensive Core: Feraligatr + Mega Altaria

Sets

Feraligatr @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Waterfall
- Superpower
- Crunch / Aqua Jet

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Return
- Roost
- Heal Bell / Earthquake

OR

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Return
- Heal Bell

I know this core has probably been posted before, and I know it's in the Old Cores archive, but I'd like to post my version of this core, which I think is the best version of the core imo. Other versions of this core included Dragon Dance Feraligatr, which I agree is a good set but I actually like Swords Dance much more in this meta as DD Gatr really struggles to sweep in a fast, offensive meta like this, and it doesn't do as much damage to bulkier builds as well. SD Gatr is pretty destructive, breaking down balance builds really nicely with it's coverage, and it basically beats everything Mega Altaria hates after a SD boost. At +2, even with a Jolly Nature, Ferrothorn is OHKOed by Superpower, and Feraligatr scares out bulky Ground-types and Fire-types, and can use Crunch to kill Slowbro after Stealth Rock at +2. It pairs with Mega Altaria very well because M-Alt can check the Grass and Electric types that Feraligatr hates to fight, and appreciates how SD Gatr breaks down a lot of her checks and counters, opening up for a Dragon Dance sweep late-game. Offensive DD or King DDD works, I personally like King DDD for the increased bulk allowing it to check stuff better, and Heal Bell is great to set up on stuff like Rotom-Wash and remove any unfortunate Scald burns or Toxic from Feraligatr. Good teammates for this core include Heatran to add a check to Talonflame, a Stealth Rocker, and another check to things like Serperior. Other Pokemon that can check the threats to this core (Weavile, Talonflame, Tornadus-T, Sand) are appreciated as well. Overall, this is a pretty good offensive core that is a common sight when facing a Feraligatr (Except for SD of course), and I hope you all like it! n_n

i really like the sets but could you run an ev spread of 200 speed 252 atk and 56 hp jolly since your SD and speed isnt that crucial on SD feraligatr since you not boosting it. this speed would speed creep bisharp breelom and mons trying to speed creep them since it is 3 point above bish and looms max speed

I might just be being picky and silly but i wanted to suggest it any way :D

(this edit was made on the 05/04/16) EDIT: ment to say 56 def not speed which avoids 2HKO from scarf/leftovers or any other non item boosted keldeo's sacred sword

keldeo calcs

252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 56 Def Feraligatr: 130-154 (41.8 - 49.5%) -- guaranteed 3HKO 56 DEF
252 SpA Keldeo Secret Sword vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Feraligatr: 139-165 (44.6 - 53%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO 0 DEF

 

[Eclipse]

i really like the sets but could you run an ev spread of 200 speed 252 atk and 56 hp jolly since your SD and speed isnt that crucial on SD feraligatr since you not boosting it. this speed would speed creep bisharp breelom and mons trying to speed creep them since it is 3 point above bish and looms max speed

I might just be being picky and silly but i wanted to suggest it any way :D

Well, the nice thing about Gatr's speed is that it outspeeds max speed Heatran and below, and especially considering max speed Tran's are starting to become the standard now even on defensive sets, its cool that Gatr hits 280 speed to outspeed that along with other mons like Adamant Exca and Jolly M-Scizor/M-Hera. There's really not a problem with running your spread, although the extra speed will probably find itself more useful in more situations than running some extra bulk, unless there's a specific defensive benchmark/OHKO/2HKO that Gatr can avoid by running that HP investment that I'm unaware of. n_n

 

[OverlordDerp]

Thundurus + Weavile Offensive Core

Sets

Thundurus (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Focus Blast / filler

Weavile @ Life Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off
- Pursuit / filler

About as bog standard as it gets, but god damn if this doesn't just breeze through like 80% of all bulky offense teams. NP Thundy is a fearsome wallbreaker at +2 that has two amazing boons in paralysis immunity and a stellar speed tier. BoltBeam coverage never hurts, and it even has the option of running things in lieu of Focus Blast to better support its teammates, like Thunder Wave, Grass Knot, or even Psychic. Granted, Focus Blast and Thunder Wave are far and away the best options here, but the others still have some niche potential.

Weavile, on the other hand, handles things that naturally outspeed Thundy by a certain margin, such as Starmie. Generally covers a lot of offensive threats that Thundy doesn't want to be eating damage from, and even has its own slew of coverage options in Low Kick (very useful if Thundy doesn't have Focus Blast) and Poison Jab.

Core is naturally threatened by sand, anti-offense (M-Lop, M-Manec) and scarfers, so slow pivots are a godsend. Celebi is actually an interestingly good pivot for this team, as it covers sand, M-Lop (but not M-Manec), and several scarfers like Keldeo and non X-Scissor Terrakion.

Defensive answers like Clefable are generally solid against this core, so you may either want to run some sort of contingency in the core (i.e. Poison Jab on Weavile, Life Orb on Thundy to 2HKO unaware clef, or even CB Weavile after rocks to 2HKO with Icicle Crash after rocks), or a teammate that takes advantage of it. Stealth Rocks boost this core's OHKO and 2HKO potential immensely, and a solid setter (see: Celebi again, as well as Lando-T, Clef, etc.) is basically mandatory. Hazard removal is also quite key, since you're most likely going to be pivoting these two around a lot and don't want to be racking up SR damage on them, seeing as they're weak to Rock already.

Personal opinion on this: it's really just M-Manectric + Weavile in that it shits on offense and bulky offense, except you trade some speed for much better stallbreaking and wallbreaking, and a slightly different coverage set. So bog-standard it puts Shrek's swamp to shame, but that doesn't make it any less devastatingly effective.

 

[Ramses]

hi so this is basically a core dump from the viability tour

Offensive Core: Crawdaunt + Mega Aerodactyl

sets

Crawedaunt @ Life Orb
Ability: Adapatability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crab Hammer
- Knock Off
- Swords Dance
- Aqua Jet

Aerodactyl @ Aerodacylite
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wing Attack
- Stone Edge
- Fire Fang
- Pursuit

I liked this core. Crawdaunt absolutely dumps on most of Mega Aerodactyl's checks with incredible ease and makes room for it to clean up after it's devastated the opposition. Both of them are really slept on, especially Mega Aerodactyl who's a lot better than I believed when I first used it, but metagame shifts happen I guess. This Aerodactyl has Pursuit which allows it to eliminate things like Gengar, Latios, Alakazam, who can all tank an Aqua Jet and, possibly, KO it with Focus Blast or STAB.


Offensive Core: Shaymin + Thundurus

sets

Shaymin @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Seed Flare
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Healing Wish

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast / Thunder Wave

Shaymin is basically a poor man's Scarf Celebi in this situation p2. I built an extreme offense build with these duo which consisted of some hyper, hyper offense. Basically I needed a switch-in to Water-types (what can you do?), a lure to Ferro and subsequently Mega Sciz, and make Heatran think twice about switching in, and more. It supplements Thundurus as something that can break up bulky Ground-types and annoy offense with deceptively power Seed Flares. Thundurus in this case has HP Flying since Mega Venusaur obviously manhandles these two and Tangrowth is sparking in usage so that's nice too. I've swapped between TWave and FBlast a lot depending on the outcome of the build, but both are solid.


Defensive Core: Reuniclus + Clefable

sets

Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball / Focus Blast
- Calm Mind
- Recover

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

I'm not going to speak to heavily on this one since you've probably seen it before during SPL's iirc (well if you even care about SPL). It's basically a core around two great and bulky Calm Mind users. I've always seen Reuniclus as the real star in the duo with Clefable being great support as it can actually take out the Dark-types (hint hint Mega Sableye) that wall it. Clefable supplements it perfectly and works as a paralysis spreader and can function as a secondary wincondition itself. Great core.

Offensive Core: Mega Tyranitar + Magnezone

sets

Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Unnerve
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Dragon Dance

Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Mega Tyranitar is actually really good. It's an amazing late-game cleaner since it has marvelous bulk which lets it setup with ease and start killing things with ease. It's obvious it struggles with Steel-types since it doesn't have Fire Punch, but who can take care of Steel-types easily? Magnezone. It also weakens Clefable and other Fairies to the point where Crunch or even Ice Punch can pick them off instead of relying on Stone Edge. Speaking of Ice Punch it lures in Lando and Garchomp so they're weakened sufficiently. They've actually got pretty good defensive synergy too.

enjoy n_n

 

[kek123]

Defensive Core: Dragalge , Ferrothorn , Clefable (only weak to one type Ground)

this core is really cool becuase they cover each overs weakness almost perfectly the only thing is that there is a mild weakness to ground types but the can easily be fix with the other three members of the team , another cool thing about this core is the it gets all of the hazards other than sticky web which isnt used any way because of the large amount of bisharp and serp usage also you sdont have to run two hazards on ferro which is good , also this core run clefable rocks which is very good against mega sab becuase it mean mega sab cant magic bounce rocks because of fair of moon blast and doesn't expects it because clef rocks is rare any way . clef ferro is a good core but dragalge makes it better dealing with heatran, magnezone keldeo and other clef(unaware) along with many more which clef and ferro cant on their own.

sets

Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 232 SpD / 28 Spe
Calm Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Scald
- Toxic Spikes

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Spikes
- Leech Seed

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

 

[AM]

Offensive Core: M-Heracross + Manaphy + Metagross

Sets

Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Atk / 84 Def / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Close Combat
- Substitute / Swords Dance

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psychic
- Rain Dance
- Tail Glow

Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch

This core is really great against all the bulky offense squads roaming around since about 0 in the tier has the combined defensive utility to stomach or wall M-Hera + Manaphy. The only decentish answer to it is Unaware Clef and Metagross just plows through that with ease. The Sub M-Hera set is the one I use the spread itself I got off another thread found in research thread on the week with M-Heracross by Turboderp, who by the way has one of the most hideous avatars ever good god. Meta pursuits Latios who annoys the core as well. Bulky M-Hera I think is the best set to be using in the meta because defensive teams normally don't have the means to break it outside of specific moves and some luck. Enjoy.

Offensive Core: Mamoswine + Thundurus

Sets

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 HP
- Icicle Crash
- Earthquake
- Ice Shard
- Knock Off

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 52 Atk / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Knock Off
- Grass Knot / Superpower

Sort of the same deal except this would be on more offensive builds. Adamant Mamos switch ins are normally relegated to defensive waters and defensive steels with Thundurus being able to break the waters and paired up with secondary partners break steels. It already threatens out Skarmory which is the the only steel immune to Mamoswines Earthquake. A lot of peoples perceptions about Thundurus come from the bog standard 3 attacks / Twave set that gets prepped for but changes the dynamics in how you play against a Thundurus when a mixed set is revealed. Set on Thundurus is interchangeable depending on team like if you want to hurt Scizor more easily Incinerate on the last slot can be used.

 

[Thatwackycruton]

Sets

D-Day (Hydreigon) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- U-turn

Tianhe-2 (Metagross-Mega) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Tough Claws
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hammer Arm
- Ice Punch
- Zen Headbutt

So, basically, this core revolves around Hydra's amazing ability to bait in faries, U-Turn out, and give meta a chance to destroy things. Scarfed Hydra has been something that I've found to actually be rather solid, mostly due to a STAB combo that is very efficient at revenging the likes of Adamant ZardX, Dragonite, and fast psychics like Alakazam, Mgross, and Latios. Anyway, Hydra can waste the fat steels that Metagross doesn't like with Fire Blast, while Metagross can bait in Heatran and destroy it with Hammer Arm. Bisharp is also nicely checked by Hydriegon, which is very important to offense team that don't want to run Keldeo. Hydra can also come in on predicted quakes, fire attacks, and scalds that would otherwise threaten Metagross with a burn or damage. Overall a solid, fast core that can still switch into key threats like the latis and bisharp. A pokemon to handle Keldeo, especially a scarfed one, are gratly appreciated. I used Celebi, but most fat grasses can stop Keldeo.

 

[TURBODERP]

Offensive Core: M-Heracross + Manaphy + Metagross

Sets

Heracross-Mega @ Heracronite
Ability: Skill Link
EVs: 248 HP / 76 Atk / 84 Def / 100 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Rock Blast
- Close Combat
- Substitute / Swords Dance

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Psychic
- Rain Dance
- Tail Glow

Metagross @ Assault Vest
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Pursuit
- Bullet Punch

This core is really great against all the bulky offense squads roaming around since about 0 in the tier has the combined defensive utility to stomach or wall M-Hera + Manaphy. The only decentish answer to it is Unaware Clef and Metagross just plows through that with ease. The Sub M-Hera set is the one I use the spread itself I got off another thread found in research thread on the week with M-Heracross

Little addendum/alteration to the Heracross set, here's a (possibly) better one

Heracross @ Heracronite
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Atk / 168 Def / 8 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Pin Missile
- Substitute
- Rock Blast
- Close Combat

If you're not concerned about outspeeding Rotom-W post-Mega, then just run this set instead. The extra physical bulk lets you handle Mega Lopunny and LO Excadrill at +2 better, and guarantees that Defensive Lando-T Stone Edge never breaks your sub.

by Turboderp, who by the way has one of the most hideous avatars ever good god.

...them's fightin words

 

[HailFall]

Balanced Core: Mega Latias + Skarmory + Tyranitar

Hide

Latias-Mega @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
- Reflect Type / Thunder Wave

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower

This is a pretty standard hazard stacking core but it hadnt been posted here yet, so I figured I'd do it. Its a fat balance core and the idea is that mega latias -- especially with reflect type (but twave is also okay) -- is great at forcing switches. You take advantage of that by adding spdef skarm to stack spikes punishing every switch the opponent makes. Skarm is also rlly nice here because it checks stuff like m garde and weavile which bother m latias. The two are both bulky as fuck and this defensive core is seriously difficult to take down. Finally the last member of the core is scarftar. Scarftar discourages many hazard removers such as lati@s and starmie from taking the hazards skarm sets off the field via pursuit, and at the very least stops them from defogging more than once. This is further complemented by the fact that ttar also traps two big threats to both m latias and skarm, gengar and hoopa-u (even though it might get banned).

Good partners for this core are rocks users like lando or chomp to take full advantage of being able to freely pile on hazards. Starmie or exca can make nice partners, removing hazards from your side of the field without removing them from the opponents side. Excadrill checks like lando-t or rotom-w are also appreciated as it can hax its way through skarm somewhat easily and also spins off your hazards without being ttar weak. You can even try out something like cofagrigus which spinblocks + wisps exca and provides toxic spikes support further aiding the hazard stacking.

 

[Backstreet Bummer]

Balanced Core: Mega Latias + Skarmory + Tyranitar

Hide

Latias-Mega @ Latiasite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Recover
- Reflect Type / Thunder Wave

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Spikes
- Iron Head
- Roost
- Whirlwind

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Superpower

This is a pretty standard hazard stacking core but it hadnt been posted here yet, so I figured I'd do it. Its a fat balance core and the idea is that mega latias -- especially with reflect type (but twave is also okay) -- is great at forcing switches. You take advantage of that by adding spdef skarm to stack spikes punishing every switch the opponent makes. Skarm is also rlly nice here because it checks stuff like m garde and weavile which bother m latias. The two are both bulky as fuck and this defensive core is seriously difficult to take down. Finally the last member of the core is scarftar. Scarftar discourages many hazard removers such as lati@s and starmie from taking the hazards skarm sets off the field via pursuit, and at the very least stops them from defogging more than once. This is further complemented by the fact that ttar also traps two big threats to both m latias and skarm, gengar and hoopa-u (even though it might get banned).

Good partners for this core are rocks users like lando or chomp to take full advantage of being able to freely pile on hazards. Starmie or exca can make nice partners, removing hazards from your side of the field without removing them from the opponents side. Excadrill checks like lando-t or rotom-w are also appreciated as it can hax its way through skarm somewhat easily and also spins off your hazards without being ttar weak. You can even try out something like cofagrigus which spinblocks + wisps exca and provides toxic spikes support further aiding the hazard stacking.

I don't see what putting a choice scarf on TTar gives you over running the "standard set" or even a choice band. Tar easily has the special bulk to take a single SE hit from the likes of latias or starmie if they decide to stay in, particularly given his ability, and being locked into a weak pursuit leaves Ttar as set up bait in the event that they do switch.

 

[HailFall]

I don't see what putting a choice scarf on TTar gives you over running the "standard set" or even a choice band. Tar easily has the special bulk to take a single SE hit from the likes of latias or starmie if they decide to stay in, particularly given his ability, and being locked into a weak pursuit leaves Ttar as set up bait in the event that they do switch.

the point is that it also beats the likes of gengar and hoopa, while also outpseeding lati to always get that second hit even if it dracos.

 

[bludz]

Choice Scarf Ttar is the most standard Ttar set. It gives it the functional utility to outspeed Latios, Starmie, Raikou, Mega Metagross, Mega Diancie, and a lot of other common pokemon. I find no issue with Choice Scarf Ttar in that core and in fact is the set that I believe makes the most sense to recommend. Please move on.

 

[Qwanda]

Offensive Core: Volcanion + Serperior/Mega Sceptile

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-OR-

Hide

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 72 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Earth Power/Hidden Power Grass/Hidden Power Ice

Sceptile @ Sceptilite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid / Naive Nature
- Dragon Pulse
- Giga Drain
- Focus Blast/Earthquake/Outrage
- Substitute

-OR-

Serperior @ Life Orb
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Dragon Pulse
- Hidden Power Fire
- Giga Drain/Taunt/Glare

While Volcanion has been released only recently, its position has a strong wallbreaker with good defensive utility by virtue of its unique defensive typing and ability seems to already be cemented. Its specs set posses immense sheer power which lets its severely damage, if not outright KO, many pokemon that do not resist its STAB's, and even some that do. Due to it's exclusive STAB combination alone, it is able to tear apart several common defensive cores, and, because of its respectable bulk and ability, in combination with its aforementioned offensive prowess, it is no slouch against offense, either. Steam Erruption and Fire Blast in the first two moveslots are obvious, high powered STAB's, which give this set its power. Sludge Wave gives good coverage alongside the first two moves, and lets it hit fairies, notably Azumarill, which is checked thanks to Water Absorb and its fire typing. The EV spread lets Volcanion avoid being OHKO'd by CB Azumarill's superpower after rocks and let it neatly hit 221 speed, which is enough to outspeed standard defensive Landorus-T and Modest Magnezone. The final moveslot can be used to either hit opposing Volcanion or hit water types with the preffered hidden power. Despite numerous positives, Volcanion still struggles with several common pokemon, namely bulky dragon and water types, and is threatened offensivley by electric types. While it is able to threaten these mons in some, albiet limited, capacity due to its chosen hidden power and the threat of a burn, they are significant threats nonetheless. These mons include Slowbro, Slowking, (mega) Latias, Dragonite, Mega Manectric, Thundurus(-I), etc.

Sceptile is able to outspeed and decimate almost every one of Volcanions checks thanks to its powerful STAB's. In addition, Sceptile lies on a great speed tier, thereby threatening offence which Volc alone cannot deal with. This hold true for bulky offence and even balance in so far as Volcanion is able to destroy common defensive cores and sceptile cleans up/beats checks volc's checks. Sub is chosen on Sceptile as fire/ground coverage is mostly irrelevnant due to the presence of Volcanion. Earthquake and a Naive nature could be used to hit electric's without dropping your special attack, however it generally is quite weak and is susceptible to the intimidate drop but Mega Manectric. Outrage is slashed aswell to deal slightly more damage to mega-latias than dragon pulse, and beat CM variants.

Serperior is an alternative to Sceptile that does not take up a mega slot, and that can pressure fatter builds a bit better, however it is generally inferior because it lacks immediate power and is outsped by key threats such as Mega Manectric and Raikou. It also lacks the speed to threaten offence in the same way sceptile can. Reguardless, serperior is still a good partner that can be chosen if another mega is desirable.

Mega Latias and AV slowking are two big threats because they tank a dragon pulse and leaf storm, respectivley. Sceptile can come in on a thunderbolt from Mega Latias and subsequently OHKO thanks to lighting rod, however this is risky, and CM Mega Latias wins if it sets up a CM on the switch. CB tyranitar is a good partner as it traps both the previously mentioned threats, and is a switchin to electric types which threaten Volc. This is particularly useful if Serperior is used. Skarmory and Garchomp can both set hazards, which limit switchins to Volc, and deal with sand/ground-type attacks, which otherwise is a threat to the core. Finally, Skarmory and Jolly/Air Balloon sand rush Excadrill remove hazards for Volcanion and also beat sand.

Apologies for the long post, however I felt it was somewhat justified because of volcanions new release. :]

 

[Starmei]

+

/ (Most grass types tbh - Tang/Cele/Amoong/MVenu)

Sets

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Ghost]

Breloom @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Spore
- Mach Punch
- Bullet Seed
- Swords Dance/Rock Tomb

Change the spreads/sets around if you like. I'm sure you're all aware of Volcanion's abilities, both positive and negative. I find that Breloom makes for a decent partner as it's able to check some Electric types (but if you're concerned about elecs then use another grass type like Tang/Cele/Amoong/MVenu or just throw on a Hippo~), grounds like Lando-T, rock types like TTar, Terrak & bulky waters like Slowbro, Suicune, etc. I chose HP Ghost as the last slot on Volcanion because I felt like HP Grass wasn't overly needed thanks to Breloom and this core isn't a massive fan of things like Latias/os, Starmie, and some other psychics. Optionally you could use something like HP Elec though. I'm really too lazy to write 5 paragraphs for things that even players like AM could easily grasp.

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+

Sets

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Grass]

OR

Volcanion @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 216 Def / 44 Spe
Bold Nature
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Flamethrower
- Steam Eruption

Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
EVs: 244 HP / 208 SpD / 56 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Earthquake
- Facade/Knock Off/Ice Fang/whatever

Rest talk Volcanion. Have I gone crazy? Am I human???? - Basically I was building a much more bulky team so I decided I wanted my Volcanion to have some means of recovering as it can actually check/switch into quite a few things and I didn't feel that Sludge Bomb + HP Grass were massively needed. The spread outspeeds bulky MScizor rest in Def. This allows it to take on things like Specs Keld, Bisharp, Weavile, and even things like Mega Metagross (w/o EQ), Talonflame and many more. Volcanion is still pretty new so this set may turn out to be pretty dong as I'll no doubt find out but it seems to be working rather well and missing out on the 2 coverage moves isn't that big a deal a lot of the time. Steam Eruption's 8 PP is a bit of an issue with a set that prefers to stick around longer into the game but you can also get it from Sleep Talk so it's not all that bad. Potentially could change to Scald though for PP purposes.

Gliscor can take on most of the things that check or revenge kill Volcanion. - Lando-T, Garchomp, TTar, Terrak, etc and it's also helpful vs some Elecs but as most carry things like HP ice/Hydro Pump it's not exactly reliable. In turn, Volcanion is able to check a lot of things nicely for Gliscor like Weavile, Keldeo, Azumarill and pressure things that SD Gliscor dislikes facing like Skarm. Gliscor EVs are for max speed base 70s like Bish/Breloom/etc that could potentially cause problems but this can be changed as it's not crucial for the core.

Note: Volcanion is still new so these were just some ideas I had, I imagine a lot will change in the coming weeks about Volcanion in OU

 

[blank]

volcanion core time ^~^

offensive core / balanced core

sets

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave / Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Electric] / Hidden Power [Grass]

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Superpower
- Ice Punch / Crunch

volcanion really appreciates pursuit support to get rid of lati@s; tyranitar is a really nice pursuiter that does that. other than that, tyranitar also does a solid job of checking speedy electrics that check volcanion like raikou and mega manectric. volcanion helps out tyranitar by checking annoying steels like mega scizor and skarmory. you don't have to run scarf tar here... really any tyranitar set with pursuit will work; it's just team dependent :3c

balanced core / defensive core

sets

Volcanion @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 148 Def / 112 Spe
Impish Nature
- Haze / Roar
- Toxic
- Scald
- Flamethrower / Protect / Will-O-Wisp

Sableye-Mega @ Sablenite
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 112 Def / 144 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Foul Play
- Knock Off
- Recover

this bulky volcanion set does a good job of checking a lot of the things sab doesn't really like that much like azumarill, clefable, and other annoying fairies, offensive fire types, and offensive water types. in return, sableye does a great job of keeping rocks off the field for volc. haze / roar allow volc to phaze clefable and BD azumarill efficiently.

offensive core

sets

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave / Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Electric] / Hidden Power [Grass]

Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Nasty Plot / Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Flying] / Hidden Power [Ice]
- Grass Knot / Focus Blast

volcanion has big issues with opposing bulky waters, and thundurus does a great job of handling them. if you go with grass knot on thundurus, you can also handle seismitoad and gastrodon- 2 really annoying counters to volcanion. with nastyplot, you can start building with a really clear wincon in mind; whereas with thunder wave, your thundurus is playing more of a support role to volcanion.

 

[Martin]

Gonna drop a really cool Volcanion core that I've been using:

Offensive

Sets

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 72 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power [Ghost]

Heatran @ Power Herb
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Magma Storm
- Solar Beam
- Taunt
- Stealth Tock / Toxic

The way this core works is simple: Heatran lures, traps and KOs the fat waters that give Volcanion trouble. It can also beat Chansey 1v1 between Magma Storm, Taunt and potentially Toxic. It also has good offensive synergy with Volcanion, being able to help break down each-others checks due to sharing a lot of them. In exchange for these offensive perks, Volcanion provides a Scald immunity for Heatran and can help check Azumarill.

Hidden Power Ghost is chosen as it is Volc's most powerful option against Lati@s and Jellicent in one slot. You could use HP Grass or Electric if you want but the former feels pretty redundant whereas HO Elec's only targets are opposing Volcanion and Gyarados--the former of which isn't gonna try and stomach a Steam Eruption any time soon.

 

[Snou]

This is definitively one of my favorive offensive cores. Not a big fan of Manaphy, but for this role it's perfect. Everyone knows the pokémons Diancie struggles to face: Amoonguss, Ferrothorn, Scizor, Venusaur etc etc. Well, HP Fire diancie hits at least half of this but what's really impressive is the perfect offensive sinergy between these two sets. Psychic Manaphy bait kills Amoonguss and Venusaur, in order to help Diancie's sweep. HP fire Diancie is a nice way to baitkill Ferrothorn (or at least put it in range of a +3 manaphy stab). Manaphy is also a decent switchin on most of diancie's checks like Slowking and other bulky waters such as Suicune. It offers a decent protection to Scizor's bullet punches. The core is offensively really solid, but needs support, especially against electric mons such as Manectric and Thundurus. Maybe AV Raikou could be a good partner for the core!

Hide

Diancie @ Diancite
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Diamond Storm
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Moonblast
- Protect

Manaphy @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Energy Ball
- Scald
- Tail Glow
- Psychic

 

[OverlordDerp]

Sets

Volcanion @ Expert Belt
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 72 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Wave
- Toxic

Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 96 SpD / 28 Spe
Impish Nature
- Return
- Dragon Dance
- Roost
- Refresh

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 96 SpD / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Giga Drain
- Recover
- Baton Pass

Plays on the fact that most Volcanion sets are Specs (although the Haze set is very good too). Expert Belt lets you bluff Specs and catch Slowbro/Slowking, Gastro, and virtually any of your bulky water switch-ins with Toxic. Best part is, you'll often easily tank any non-Ground hit Volc's checks throw at you anyways, so prediction is less of an issue. M-Altaria, while not as favored in the meta these days due to being weak to sand teams, finds an incredibly solid partner in Volcanion. M-Latias is also a good choice here, but I mainly picked this due to not losing to CM + Rest users like Suicune (which Volcanion can't beat with Toxic), and having a better time against status spreaders. M-Latias, on the other hand, has more bulk and access to Reflect Type, if that's what your team needs more. Celebi beats M-Bro and Gastro/Quag, while also being a solid answer to Sand teams in general.

Needs an answer to Weavile, so Skarmory sounds solid as that plus a Spikes setter (or even a defogger, if it comes to that). It's also somewhat Pursuit-weak, so keep that in mind - 108 Speed on Celebi helps outrun Bisharp, but makes you weaker to Thundurus. M-Altaria and Celebi have a hard time checking Thundurus and other electrics while taking hazard damage, and Volcanion is weak to SR, so the aforementioned Skarmory or another hazard remover helps in this case.

 

[Dilwar]

+

SETS

Volcanion @ Power Herb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 72 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Solar Beam
- Hidden Power [Ice] / Flame Charge / Earth Power

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Earth Plate
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Rock Polish
- Swords Dance

Another core with new toy Volcanion. I wanted to try out a heat set so I opted for Power Herb Solarbeam which is a cool lure for bulky Waters. Then I just found a Pokemon that could benefit from this and found dancing Lando-T. Lando-T has trouble with bulky Waters so the lure works well for it, and the two generally have decent synergy together so it was a solid pick.

Some examples of threats to dancing Lando-T are Slowbro, Rotom-W and bulky Manaphy. These usually have no problem switching into Volcanion and are either KOd or put in range of Lando-T to clean up.

Calcs

252+ SpA Volcanion Solar Beam vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-W: 272-320 (89.7 - 105.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Volcanion Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 24 SpD Slowbro: 336-396 (85.2 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

This does enough that even after Regen Lando-T should finish a Slowbro with EPlate EQ. With rocks up it's an 81.3% chance to OHKO.

252+ SpA Volcanion Solar Beam vs. 240 HP / 0 SpD Manaphy: 288-340 (71.8 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252+ Atk Earth Plate Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Manaphy: 169-199 (42.1 - 49.6%) -- 28.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 240 HP / 252+ Def Manaphy: 127-151 (31.6 - 37.6%) -- 88.9% chance to 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

As for the typing stuff that newer players get hard-ons over, Volcanion's weakness to Electric and Ground is covered by Lando-T who is immune to both. Its other weakness, Rock, is also handled well by Lando-T as Lando-T has no problem taking Rock Slides and Stone Edges. On the other hand, Lando-T's weaknesses to Water and Ice are covered by Volcanion, who is immune to Water and 4x resists Ice. This lets you play around with switching potential and keeps things like Rotom-W and Azu guessing which move to use.

As for the sets, Volcanion runs enough Speed to reliably creep Rotom-W with the rest in bulk, while Lando-T's spread is just a simple, standard one. HP Ice on Volcanion is cool to round off the FWG coverage, most notably hitting Dragons like Dragonite, Latis, Mence and Hydreigon. To be honest though, the Latis aren't 2HKOd while the others are very rare, so you can try other stuff like Flame Charge. Flame Charge would be pretty cool on this set as Volcanion clears its own path of bulky Waters, thus potentially opening up a sweep.

In summary, the offensive synergy lies in Volcanion removing bulky Waters for a Lando clean up, or if the trick fails, SD Lando can overwhelm bulky Waters for Volc to win. The defensive synergy is found in their typing, so naturally they check things for each other. I don't think I need to list those. The core is weak to fast Electrics like Raikou and M-Manectric. Scarf Lando could instead be run to mitigate this to an extent, but you'd probably want something more reliable. Latias is a reliable Electric check which also provides Defog for Volcanion, or if you want to go the balance route, Ferrothorn rounds off the core nicely and provides hazards.

E: I slashed in Earth Power as another option for Volcanion just to hit other Volcanion, because it's gonna be really popular right now thanks to new toy syndrome.

 

[Random Passerby]

Volcanion + Mamoswine Offensive Core

+

Sets

Volcanion @ Choice Specs
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 72 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 180 Spe
Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Grass

Mamoswine @ Life Orb
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 240 Atk / 16 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Ice Shard
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Freeze-Dry

Explanation

This is from my experience playing in the ladder where a lot of players used Water/Ground Pokemon such as Gastrodon and Seismitoad to counter Volcanion. Mamoswine helps with this problem by luring those Pokemon and heavily damaging them with Freeze-Dry, which also 2HKOes Rotom-W. As a bonus, Mamoswine checks Dragon-types and Grass-types which prevent you from spamming Steam Eruption while also being able to revenge kill the now popular Thundurus-I and Tornadus-T. In return, Volcanion Offensively checks Steel-types (Scizor, Ferrothorn, etc.) and Azumarill which Mamoswine struggles against. EVs on Volcanion allows it to survive Banded Azumarill's Superpower after Rocks while outpacing max Speed Jolly Azumarill. Core needs some Speed control because of both mons average Speed, however.

 

[AM]

m00ns volcanion + m-sableye core needs way more credit lol. Sick core.

 

[Halcyon.]

I would like to reiterate that Celebi + Volcanion and Sab + Volcanion are amazing I've had a lot of fun with a team using both cores. Seriously, if you thought Volcanion hit hard on its own, +1 or +2 Volcanion destroys everything. Sab is just great at preventing hazards an Volcanion murders Clef with Steam Eruption lol.

 

[Icing On Da Cake]

Time to let off some steam (excuse that shitty pun but I couldn't resist)

Volcanion + Sand

+

Yeah this core is just strong af. Volcanion just kills all of excadrill's checks and counters such as skarmory, grass types (tangrowth, celebi, etc.), bulky grounds and bulky mhera, among others, while weakening bulky waters such as rotom-w, slowbro, and suicune with burns/hp grass or electric/sludge bomb/solar beam, and it can even troll azumarill and prevent aqua jet from revenge killing drill. Excadrill smashes through mega diancie, mega aerodactyl, chansey, lati, mega altaria, dragalge, and opposing volcanion, among others, and cleans up after volcanion is done killing everything else. TTar is there obv to set up sand. When I was using this core, I was usually using scarf, but the support set works as well.

Import

Volcanion @ Choice Specs / Power Herb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb / Earth Power
- Solar Beam / Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice

Excadrill @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Rapid Spin / Return

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower

or

Tyranitar @ Leftovers / Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish / Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Crunch / Ice Beam / Toxic
/hide]

 

[Dgvhh]

Time to let off some steam (excuse that shitty pun but I couldn't resist)

Volcanion + Sand

+

Yeah this core is just strong af. Volcanion just kills all of excadrill's checks and counters such as skarmory, grass types (tangrowth, celebi, etc.), bulky grounds and bulky mhera, among others, while weakening bulky waters such as rotom-w, slowbro, and suicune with burns/hp grass or electric/sludge bomb/solar beam, and it can even troll azumarill and prevent aqua jet from revenge killing drill. Excadrill smashes through mega diancie, mega aerodactyl, chansey, lati, mega altaria, dragalge, and opposing volcanion, among others, and cleans up after volcanion is done killing everything else. TTar is there obv to set up sand. When I was using this core, I was usually using scarf, but the support set works as well.

Import

Volcanion @ Choice Specs / Power Herb
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid / Modest Nature
- Steam Eruption
- Fire Blast
- Sludge Bomb / Earth Power
- Solar Beam / Hidden Power Electric / Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Ice

Excadrill @ Life Orb / Air Balloon
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Swords Dance / Rapid Spin / Return

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Superpower

or

Tyranitar @ Leftovers / Chople Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 80 Def / 180 SpD
Impish / Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Crunch / Ice Beam / Toxic
/hide]

I love this core a lot cause like you said, it has not only nice offensive sinergy but decent defensive sinergy, Volc making Sand Offense much more viable cause of a water sponge/Burn Absorb and offers offensive pressure in return and faaar from dead weight.