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As a result of Magearna being banned during this cycle, we will just take the top 2 cores ignoring the votes for this core as TR Steel hasn't really received many changes without Magearna making it not worth building around ignoring the Magearna.
We started with the core of Quiver Dance Volcarona and Choice Band Scizor. We slightly edited the Volcarona set given to use because we felt that an offensive set suited the team better, and as there was no explanation provided with the core we assumed that changing them slightly would be ok, we stuck with Heavy-Duty Boots in the end as there is no hazard control on this team. We stuck with the same Scizor set and moved on to our hazards setter.
Shuckle was the option we chose to have a reliable Webs setter and a chance at getting Rocks up too, whilst also providing Knock Off and Encore utility. We opted for physical defensive ultimately so as to survive Urshifu's Surging Strikes.
After Shuckle we chose the next big drop for Bug in Heracross. This Pokemon adds speed control and sweeping potential, especially under Webs and with Rocks support.
The 5th Pokemon we chose was an offensive Galvantula set, utilising Volt Switch to attempt to bring Scizor and Heracross in, as well as Magnet to potentially bluff Sash. With Electric & Grass coverage Galvantula is able to hit every Pokemon on a Water-type team hard, whilst Bug Buzz is a strong STAB option.
For our final Pokemon we chose Ribombee to provide Fairy STAB against Dragon, with Stun Spore and Psychic to provide utility and hit Toxapex respectively. Again we chose Heavy-Duty Boots as we have no hazard control on this team.
Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
Crawdaunt @ Choice Band
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Close Combat
- Liquidation
- Knock Off
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We started out by adding Mandibuzz. Mandibuzz is a staple on Dark-type teams because it provides good hazard control, a Fighting/Bug-type neutrality, and acts as a slow pivot. We decided on a standard Heavy Duty Boots set with 16 speed EVs to outspeed Adamant Azumarill.
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Dark really only has one viable special attacker, and it’s a good one. We had a debate over which Hydreigon set to add. Nasty plot wasn’t needed to beat steel now that we have Urshifu. Specs is good for hurting water and breaking through steel types, but we decided that we needed a faster Pokémon to complement Mandibuzz’s slow pivoting. In the end we decided on a Choice Scarf set with Flash Cannon to hit fairy type Pokémon.
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The next slot had quite a few options. At first we considered Sharpedo. Its new moveset and setup options seemed compelling, but we decided to add a fairy check first. In the battle between Drapion and Bisharp, we decided that Bisharp does the fairy matchup better. Its Sucker Punch also forms a nice priority spam core with urshifu.
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In the final slot we needed to add some glue to keep the team together. Crawdaunt’s powerful Aqua Jet complemented the team nicely. Aqua Jet allows Crawdaunt to terrorize Fire-types and finish off many teams late game.
Submissions phase is open! We are accepting gen 8 cores this time, and going back to the usual format & timings of 1 CCAT happening Saturday midnight. Show us all the new things you're excited to build around!
Rain just got new toys to play with. One of the new toys it got is Kingdra. It is an amazing wallbreaker on Water-type teams due to its ability to abuse rain and outspeed threats such as Dragapult, Zeraora, and Galarian Darmanitan.
A core of SpD Skuntank + Phys Def Amoonguss to make use of a new introduction to Poison. Amoonguss is great because it is able to stop things like Urshifu, Dracovish to an extent, and plenty other physical attackers whilst its ability keeps it healthy throughout the game, all it's really missing this gen is HP Fire. SpD Skuntank is here to stop specs Indeedee from coming in and getting a kill every time (and any other Pokemon aiming to use Expanding Force) and functions as a blanket wall to special attackers, with defog because Poison is likely to use multiple Regen Pokemon which will want to switch around without fearing hazards, and Toxic is there to stop it from being completely passive against the likes of Volcarona or other setup sweepers.
If people don't like the Amoonguss movepool / EV spread then it can definitely be changed, this is just what I've been using recently.
Flying finally got a Stealth Rock and Spikes user in Skarmory and a Electric-immunity in Emolga. Now we can build better offensive Flying teams using Skarmory as a suicide lead, since hazards are good to chip threats and get some OHKOs, and Emolga as a switch-in for Electric-type moves.
Both sets can be changed if needed, since i'm using Skarmory's USM suicide lead set and i don't know what Emolga should use.
Trick Room seems to be the thing right now, so thought that I might as well post a TR core of my own, built around the Ghost type.
This core was built around one of the new mons, being Marowak-Alola, and Jellicent, one that I thought would go well with Marowak. Marowak was a pretty popular pokemon last gen, being able to set up rocks and also hit extremely hard with a Thick Club, and jellicent has always been an OG trick room setter throughout formats like Monotype and Doubles, so I decided on Jellicent being the partner for Marowak. Sets are down below, would prefer if the movesets were similar to the ones shown. These two also provide each other with valuable immunities, Marowak having Lightning Rod, and Jelli having Water Absorb.
Marowak-Alola @ Thick Club
Ability: Lightning Rod
Serious Nature
- Stealth Rock/Low Kick
- Shadow Bone
- Flare Blitz/Fire Punch
- Earthquake/Bonemerang
Dragalge @ Black Sludge
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Flip Turn
- Sludge Bomb
- Haze
- Toxic Spikes
Dragalge was pretty ok on Dragon last gen, being a bulky Toxic Spikes setter that could also check Fairy types. Now, it can support offensive Dragon even more with Flip Turn, allowing Dragalge to slowly pivot into one of Dragon's more dangerous wallbreakers. Haze is nice for making sure certain setup sweepers like Volcarona and Hatterene can't just steamroll through. Dragon has always had a lot of variety in teambuilding, with even its most common Pokemon having various sets they can run viably. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun building around this thing.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Foul Play
- Toxic
Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Soft-Boiled
- Seismic Toss
- Toxic
With Porygon2 returning from DLC, Normal teams have gained back one of the most standard balance cores with two great defensive backbones that can overwhelm a bunch of threats. Porygon2 is a good physical wall that is able to successfully switch in on most physical attackers like Sand Rush Excadrill and Obstagoon and can revenge kill most of them with Foul Play. Additionally, its ability, Trace, can let Porygon2 mimic any ability from its opponents, becoming an even better physical wall if given the right ability. Chansey is an absurd special wall that can tank the hits of even strong setup sweepers, such as Hydreigon and Volcarona. It can even live a few hits off some physical attackers. Chansey is also now one of the few Stealth Rockers on Normal teams, which is very mandatory. The rest of their movesets are already pretty greatly covered, so I won't go over them.
Klefki @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Spikes
- Foul Play
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Belly Drum
- Play Rough
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
With the arrival of Klefki and Azumarill Fairy became more offensively powerful than it was before, Klefki offers Screns Suppor for the entire team and to take advantage of Azumarill's sweep ability at any time.
Hey all! Might I suggest a bulky offense, featuring a killer regen core water team?
Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Toxic Spikes
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
Slowking @ Leftovers / Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Dragon Tail
- Psychic
- Teleport / Fire Blast / Ice Beam / Filler
(note, use Teleport if using Leftovers, if using an offensive move use AV, can sub for Slowbro, if community feels that it would work better)
The submissions phase of this week is over. Voting is now open.
The cores this week are: ImperialGamer517’s Kingdra Water Bondie’s Skuntank + Amoonguss Poison Tico 21’s Emolga + Skarmory Flying Hyperspace12’s Marowak + Jellicent Ghost smub’s Dragalge Dragon RottenInfernape’s Chancey + Porygon2 Normal RahelGamer03’s Klefki + Azumarill Fairy Keahi’s Slowking + Toxapex Water
Because there are so many cores this week, we will be allowing TWO votes per person. You are allowed to vote for your own set if you wish, but you must vote for two sets. Thanks to everyone for participating in the submission phase
Dracovish @ Choice Band
Ability: Strong Jaw
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fishious Rend
- Outrage
- Psychic Fangs
- Crunch
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We started out by adding a stealth rock setter. Between Duraludon and Kommo-o, we decided that kommo-o was a stronger dedicated lead.
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Next we added Dragapult. Dragapult is a staple on dragon due to its speed and coverage options. We decided on a Choice Scarf set with U-turn to form a core with Dragalge.
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Kyurem is a great addition to Dragon-type teams for its ice neutrality, bulk, and ability to terrorize water teams. We decided on a specs set to maximize its sweeping power.
Hydreigon’s ability to take on bulky steel types makes it a great addition to the team. Substitute allows it to get extra turns of sweeping after setting up.
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Duraludon’s Choice Scarf set allows dragon to have an easy answer to opposing Ice, Fairy, and Dragon-type Pokemon. We decided to add thunder wave for some extra utility and speed control.
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The biggest change to the team came at the end. We decided that Kommo-o wasn’t as effective as a stealth rock setter, and we wanted another wallbreaker. We decided to do some role compression and add Stealth Rocks instead of Thunderbolt on Duraludon. Then we removed Kommo-o and replaced it with a Choice Band Dracovish. Dracovish is a great wallbreaker capable of taking on most of the Steel-type Pokemon that the team struggled with. We also changed the Kyurem set to have better synergy with Toxic Spikes. Sub + Roost allows Kyurem to set up on Water-type teams and break through Toxapex with metronome.
Shoutouts to: A Black Dratini, ExtremeCynthia, CashKP, shady icy, acaseofjaundice, and dheyloF for helping to build this team.