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Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power Fire
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt
Because an uninvested HP Fire hits about as hard as a sugarglass bottle, having a more reliable method of trapping it's targets is an extremely useful thing to have when building with this thing as they will usually take a HP Fire from Diancie and be able to heal it off later in the match, which makes it annoying to take out if they resist the coverage which is used. This is where Magnezone comes in handy. I have listed Choice Scarf, but just about any viable variant (AV, resist berries, specs, Sub, AB+MR etc.) will work here. It traps the Steel-type and proceeds to eliminate it wioth it's choice of coverage. Now Diancie can spam its STABs with impunity.
Breloom enjoys Mega Diancie's role of checking Mega Charizard Y, Mega Pinsir, Talonflame, Tornadus-T, Volcanion, and Weavile. Mega Diancie also takes out Latias and Latios, provided Mega Diancie is healthy enough. Thanks to Mega Diancie's maximum Attack investment, it has a possibility of 2HKOing Amoonguss with Diamond Storm. It can also revenge kill Mega Gardevoir after SR.
252 Atk Mega Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 248 HP / 168+ Def Amoonguss: 189-223 (43.8 - 51.7%) -- 69.5% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Black Sludge recovery
252 Atk Mega Diancie Diamond Storm vs. 16 HP / 8 Def Mega Gardevoir: 268-316 (95.3 - 112.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
Breloom does a favor for Mega Diancie by checking Hippowdon, Excadrill, Tyranitar, Chansey, and most bulky Water-types. Also, Breloom revenge kills Scarf Magnezone and Scarf Heatran, after prior damage.
If Breloom runs Force Palm, then it can also threaten Latias, Latios, and Tornadus-T with a 30% chance of paralysis, allowing Mega Diancie to revenge kill them later without the need to take unnecessary damage or super effective coverage, such as Surf from Latias and Latios, and Iron Tail Tornadus-T). It also allows Breloom to check Ferrothorn better.
Manaphy can set up on most of the things that trouble Mega Diancie, such as Steel-types that aren't 4x weak to Fire, bulky Water-types, physically defensive Clefable, and miscellaneous bulky Psychics. Meanwhile, Mega Diancie performs well against the Dragon-types that are good at checking Ice Beam-less Manaphy, notably Lati@s. Basically type synergy 101 here.
Apart from just checking each other's checks, Mega Diancie and Manaphy are both good at pressuring defensive teams and deflecting/absorbing status; Sand Rush Excadrill, Thundurus, Talonflame, and Weavile all come to mind as mons that help the core against faster opponents while capitalizing off of Mega Diancie + Manaphy's ability to disrupt and weaken fat teams. The latter three also like the fact that the core gives Talonflame a lot of trouble.
Volcarona pairs nicely with Diancie as it can take advantage of Diancie's Magic Bounce which deters Stealth Rock. It also likes Diancie weakening shared checks like Rotom-W and Clefable so that it can easily boost up and clean a weakened team. Volcarona also scares out Steel-type Pokemon which Diancie attracts in (such as Jirachi, Ferrothorn and Scizor). Bug Buzz is a secondary STAB to hit things like Lati@s and Slowbro although Hidden Power Ground lures Heatran.
Latios @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power Fire
- Roost
Latios really appreciates that Mega Diancie with Attack investment lures and often 2HKOs Clefable, beats Heatran, and also pressures Chansey a lot more. Both mons hate Steel types so a double HP Fire core is really nice since a lot of opponents will assume that at least one of the two doesn't carry it. Lati helps Diancie with stuff like Rotom-Wash, Manaphy, Scarf Keldeo, Serperior lacking Dragon Pulse, and some of the mons that wall it like Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur. Overall the two share some checks which helps them break stuff for each other, and Diancie also alleviates pressure on Latios from mons like Tyranitar, Tornadus-T, Talonflame, and Bisharp.
With max attack and SR up, a Diamond Storm from Mega Diancie now has potential to 2HKO Pokemon like Amoonguss and Offensive Mega Venu. Keld thus appreciates Mega Diancie's potential to lure in and weaken these Pokemon on the switch. This works both ways, with Keld being able to possibly Scald burn these grass types to make them easier for Mega Diancie to break down.
Even with max attack, Mega Diancie can still be checked by things like physically defensive Slowking, who only has a 3.1% chance to be 2HKOed by Diamond Storm after SR. Slowking often switches into Keld and risks being burned by Scald. Once burned, the 3.1% chance mentioned earlier turns into a 99.6% chance. This further shows how Keld and Mega Diancie can work together to break down checks for one another.
Mega Diancie can also lure in and 2HKO Clef. Although Keld can break Clef on its own with Hydro, it's going to appreciate having Clef weakened so Scald can be spammed more leisurely.
Mega Diancie dislikes Pokemon like Mega Sciz and Skarm. Nidoking is threatening, and defensive grounds like Hippo/Gliscor also become more bothersome when Mega Diancie isn't investing in SpA. Keld threatens all of these Pokemon well and likes having Talon, Mega Latias, and Torn-T checked by Mega Diancie. Keld also provides an additional check to Bisharp and deals with Tran, which is useful in the case of Flash Cannon variants.
The washing machine is able to handle Steel types with WoW, while providing a slow Volt Switch (Mega Diancie has a middling bulk including HP stat + the hindering nature on the SpD). It has a good typing and can handle well Water priority aimed to the Fairy and can soften physical switch-ins. Pain Split is useful to wear down the pink blobs in order to finish them easily with max Atk Mega Diancie.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Def / 68 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Slack Off
- Scald
- Psyshock
CM Slowking is the classic partner for PhysDef Tang, and the core puts its greater special bulk over Slowbro to good use. It forms a powerful Regen core; Slowking baits out physical attackers which Tangrowth is monstrous enough to take on with ease, and in exchange Tang baits out special attackers that Slowking can use as setup bait. In addition, they form a WG core, making it splashable on balance in general. Tang takes on the Electric- and Grass-type attacks that give Slowking trouble whereas Slowking takes on the Fire-type attacks that give Tangrowth a headache as well as being able to take on LO Torn with it's bulk. The listed EVs take 2 LO Torn-T Hurricanes after Stealth Rock and also hit a Regenerator number, which can come in handy if you are pivoting through the two of them to sponge hits lots throughout the match, as those 1 HP increases in recovery efficiency seem insignificant in the short term but really add up and improve survivability in the long-term.
pretty simple regen core, tornadus-t and tangrowth covers each others weakness pretty nicely (bar offensive ice types named weavile) such as torn-t being a reliable keldeo check and having the ability to lure in ferrothorn and hit it with heat wave. tangrowth makes up for the lack of physical bulk torn-t doesn't have. tangrowth helps with electric types that look to beat torn-t. pretty much it, just the ol' basic balanced regen core.
Excadrill (M) @ Air Balloon / Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant / Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin / Rock Slide
- Swords Dance
Phys. def. Tangrowth partners beautifully with sand offense, as it can help alleviate sand's common problems with things like Breloom and Azumarill. In addition to serving as a priority sponge for Sand Rush Exca, Tangrowth provides sand with a switch-in to the omnipresent Wash-tom and fat grounds that block Exca sweeps.
Doublade @ Eviolite
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Iron Head
- Toxic
- Pursuit
- Rest
Tangrowth is vulnerable to common wallbreakers like Mega Gardevoir, Mega Heracross, Mega Pinsir, and Choice Band Terrakion. And on top of that, it doesn't do great against Magic Guard Clef, Latios (unless it hits Koff on the switch), and Mega Scizor either. Mega Heracross in particular can safely click Substitute on it, which sucks when you've just switched in Tornadus-T.
Doublade is prone to getting pressured, and has flaws that I doubt I need to elaborate upon, but the point is that it switches into a lot of wallbreakers that give Tangrowth problems if it can't Sleep Powder them or hit the right move on the switch to cripple them, plus a few other common mons. Meanwhile, Tangrowth is soaking up Earthquakes for Doublade, and to a lesser extent, Knock Offs. Pair them with something to take special attacks and Fire-types (<.<) and you're golden.
Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Lava Plume
- Toxic
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
A really classic and straightforward partner, and for good reason. There are countless things Tang has trouble with, and a good number of them can be checked by Tran. Basic examples include Talon and Zard-X. Other Pokemon like Clefable, Mega Venu, and Latios are additional threats Tran can check for Tang as well. Tran's ability to threaten Pokemon like Mega Sciz and Ferro is also appreciated by Tang, especially with the lack of HP Fire here. In return for the help, Tang covers Tran's back by dealing with various Ground & Water types, examples being Exca, Lando-T, Mega Gyara, Azu, Rotom-W, and many more. Other threats for Tran, like Mega Lop, can also be checked by Tang. Lastly, Tran also serves as a good SR setter for the teams Tang normally finds a place on. A simple, common, and effective Fire + Grass core overall, covering a nice amount of threats in the OU metagame.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 63 - Swords Dance + Will-O-Wisp Talonflame
Mega Diancie does a good job preventing rocks from standard Tran, which is a big obstacle for Talon. Although you will still need Defog or Rapid Spin when you are using Mega Diancie with Talon, the extra hazard control it's providing will help relieve some pressure from other common partners like Starmie and Latios (who both pair nicely with Mega Diancie to cover Water types). For example, Defog Latios has trouble with SR Tran, which Mega Diancie does well versus. Starmie always risks getting trapped in a Pursuit-heavy metagame, and having Mega Diancie to fall back on for hazard control becomes really helpful in some situations.
Talon handles Steel types like Mega Sciz and Jira nicely for Mega Diancie. Because Mega Diancie has trouble breaking through Grass types like Amoonguss and Mega Venu, Talon's ability to handle them is appreciated. Offensive Grass types like Serp are similarly handled by Talon. As said before, Mega Diancie mainly covers Tran for Talon. However, it's also able to threaten Pokemon like Tar and Zapdos.
Mega Diancie also provides a secondary check to Mega Sab. This is useful because Talon is packing SD and is threatened by Foul Play as such. Offensively checking Pokemon like Char-Y and Mega Pinsir is another way Mega Diancie works together with Talon to compress some roles.
Talon can burn Pokemon like Hippo, Rotom-W, and Slowking. This is useful because they can all check Mega Diancie in one way or another. Having them burned makes their ability to switch in really shaky and makes them easier for Mega Diancie to break through and wear down over the course of the match.
So the concept of a regular Talonflame + Mega Lopunny core is to overwhelm their common checks. This is no different except Talonflame doesn't overwhelm mons like Lando-T and Garchomp so much as it cripples them. This means Lopunny can actually just wait around until they're whittled enough and it doesn't have to take repeated Rocky Helmet hits and whatnot. Of course, Lopunny also beats other checks to Talonflame like Heatran or Scarf Tyranitar (which outspeeds so has to be burned on the switch only). Further, Talon beats Clefable and checks mons like Skarmory and Scizor, while both can work to overload mons like Rotom-Wash and Slowbro. Ice Punch Lopunny is kinda the standard fare but in this core you may not need it, so PuP is an option to help bust past mons like Slowbro.
Garchomp synergizes nicely with Talon in a multitude of ways. First, Chomp and Talon form a pretty cookie-cutter breaker + cleaner core, with Chomp being able to lure in and muscle past common roadblocks to Talon like Slowbro, Landorus-T, Hippowdon, and Wash-tom. Second, Chomp is able to punish common Talon answers in Tyranitar and Heatran relatively easily, as both are complete EQ fodder and often can do relatively little in return; on the flip side, Talonflame is able to threaten the likes of Weavile, Clef, Phys. Def. Tangrowth, and a quite a few things that can revenge kill Chomp because of its relatively unimpressive base 102 speed. All in all, the two form a pretty solid offensive duo that can wear down their shared checks to create openings for the other.
Latias is able to check electrics with better consistency than Latios due to the extra bulk it has over it. It provides Defog support which is sweet and it can also potentially carry Healing Wish, which is helpful because it can heal Talonflame in a pinch if it is too weak to come in on anything or if it gets para'd or something.
What Keldeo offers:
1) Threatens Heatran, Lando-T and Tyranitar.
2) Wears down common checks with Scald burns or the proper coverage move (Secret Sword for Rotom-W, Hidden Power Electric for Slowbro).
3) Secondary check to Bisharp, Mega Scizor and Weavile.
4) Scald switch-in (if you're desperate!)
What Talonflame offers:
1) Threatens Tangrowth, Amoonguss and Celebi.
2) Revenge kills faster threats such as Tornadus-T and Mega Alakazam.
3) Clefable check (if you're desperate!)
Karlo Krakko (Krookodile) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
Krook is helpful versus pokemon like heatran, volcanion and rock type mons like Diancie and Tyranitar wich aare talons counters. Krook is weak to fighting and fairy moves wich talon can take quite good. He can possibly pursuit trap Raikou or Slowbro with low health. I think that Krook supports Talon pretty nicely to let him to sweep with sd.