Resource SS OU Good Cores Thread

[Slowpoke Fan]

Approved by Mac3 | Image by Merlusa | OP mostly copied from the original SS GC Thread


At its core, Pokémon is all about how well teams bounce off one another and work to each other's strengths, while simultaneously patching up each other's weaknesses, the most important step to achieving this balance is to establish a core to build around. This thread aims to highlight cores in the current metagame that have proven themselves to be effective, or even outright meta defining at the tasks they set out to accomplish. Cores can be built to accomplish goals both offensively and defensively alike. Offensive cores tend to be able to allow a team to break through common team styles, or use one to overwhelm a certain target to make the other's job significantly easier. Defensive cores aim to provide a solid set of resistances or check a large portion of the metagame to provide a powerful backbone that the team can consistently rely on. When building, cores are one of the most important facets for starting a team, and for establishing how you structure your team to support the core further.
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Posting Guidelines

• Any person can post a core in this thread. The cores are broken down into four categories: offensive cores, balanced cores, defensive cores, and weather cores. When posting your core, please make sure to state which one of these categories your core falls under.
• Although the way your core works may be obvious to you, this may not be the case for others. As such, when posting a core, please make sure to explain how the core operates and any other details you think are important to include. The explanations don't have to be essays; as long as your post has some substance and conveys the main idea behind the core, it's all good. Here are some things you may like to include when explaining your core:
  • Offensive Core: Should your core be an offensive one, such as Dragapult + Blacephalon, you could explain how those two Pokemon work together to break down their similar checks and any other synergistic traits. You could also mention any weaknesses the core has and any partners you believe work well with the core.
    • Here is a good example of what we look for taken from the ORAS iteration.
  • Defensive Core: Should your core be defensive, such as Landorus Therian + Tornadus Therian, you could explain their typing synergy allows them to cover problematic Pokemon for one another, or any other synergistic attributes you feel are relevant. You could also mention any weaknesses the core has and any partners you believe work well with the core.
    • Here is a good example of what we look for taken from the ORAS iteration.
• This goes without saying, but do make sure your post includes the sets your core is using. In addition, please try to include an explanation of any EV spreads deviating from the standard 252 / 252. Replays are also very helpful and highly encouraged when posting cores.
• Please do not post a core that has more than 3 Pokémon because cores bigger than this can restrict building immensely.
• Please be respectful of the cores people post in this thread. If someone posts a core that you think is ineffective or just plain bad, there is no need to jump at their throats. With that said, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged - simply be nice!

Core Selection Process

• This thread is being run by Slowpoke Fan. We will carefully monitor the cores posted in this thread. When the time comes, we will discuss the posted cores together and decide which ones will be featured in the archive.
• While the selection of good cores can often be subjective, we will take into consideration a variety of aspects before deciding which cores are featured in the archive. This includes quality of explanation, effectiveness of the core in the current metagame, and so on. We will carefully discuss everything and seek feedback from others to ensure the selected cores are of high quality.
• When we decide which cores will be featured in the archive, we will try to announce them and provide brief explanations behind why certain cores were selected and why certain cores weren't. This feedback can potentially help give people a clearer picture of what we are looking for.
• If a core is originally rejected from the archive, we can definitely provide some tips on how a set or spread can be tweaked so the core meets the standards we look for.
• Just like with anyone else who posts a core, please feel free to bring up any concerns you might have with our posts and/or the cores we select! However, please be sure to be polite, and if it is a simple question/concern, we'd prefer it being directed to us in a PM.

With all said and done, happy posting! We're excited to see what wonderful cores you all have to share with us!

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Offensive Cores

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[Slowpoke Fan]

Defensive Cores

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[Slowpoke Fan]

Balanced Cores

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[Slowpoke Fan]

Suggestion for Offensive Core: Rillaboom + Dragapult

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This offensive core utilises two dangerous choice item abusers in Rillaboom and Dragapult to break down defensive cores. Rillaboom feasts on specially defensive walls/pivots that stop Dragapult in its tracks, such as Gastrodon, Clefable, Blissey, Hippowdon and Toxapex, while Dragapult likes being u-turned into the physically defensive walls that check Rillaboom (e.g. Buzzwole, non-assault vest Tornadus-Therian/Melmetal, Zapdos, Corviknight, Skarmory, etc). Superpower is used instead of wood hammer to nail steel types such as assault vest Melmetal, Heatran and Ferrothorn (also threatens Scizor on the switch if you have knocked off its boots and have hazards up) as they can otherwise handle both members of the core, and it comes with the bonus of punishing Bisharp in matchups against more offensive structures. Dragapult runs thunderbolt to threaten physically defensive Toxapex, which walls this variant of Rillaboom. Grassy terrain also mitigates any chip damage that Dragapult takes from hazards or weak resisted attacks, improving its longevity in longer games.

Note: both members have u-turn, allowing any team using this combination to pivot on predicted switches and keep up momentum, Rillaboom also provides knock off support to remove items, which can severely hamper certain checks to its teams in the long run.

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Suggestion for Defensive Core: Slowbro + Garchomp
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Taken from xray's grassy terrain sample team, this pairing covers each other very well. Slowbro is capable of taking hits from Urshifu-RS, glaciate Victini, Melmetal, offensive Garchomp/Landorus-Therian, etc that pressures this specially defensive Garchomp, while said Garchomp handles special attackers that threaten the pink salamander, such as Tapu Koko. Heatran, Volcarona, etc. This defensive core is also a very natural fit for flying and steel types (or even both types in one Pokemon, such as Corviknight/Skarmory), making it relatively easy to slot in teammates that can patch up the core's weaknesses against certain offensive threats (e.g. Rillaboom/Kartana, Arctozolt, etc).

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Suggestion for Defensive Core:


A classic defensive core ever since the now over-romanticised Black and White games (was quite surprised by this phenomenon when I started poking around in Pokémon communities again in the early 2020s ) were released, but the UU mon if Gliscor was in the Galarian Pokédex has now shifted towards a specially defensive EV spread aimed to soak up a variety of special attacks while still being able to take on some physical attackers with the help of intimidate, allowing the steel plant to run a physically defensive set to ward off the water and ice type attacks from Pokémon such as Urshifu Rapid-Strike and Weavile that threaten its partner.

Suggestion for Balanced Core:


An obvious pairing that is often the backbone of grassy terrain teams, Rillaboom provides a bulky wallbreaker that can also remove items with knock off while pivoting with u-turn. Speaking of u-turn, Rillaboom often uses it to pivot into Heatran to threaten the steel and fire types that Rillaboom has trouble breaking through, while Heatran lures in bulky water and ground types that Rillaboom can prey on in return. Grassy terrain also weakens the power of ground type moves like earthquake, patching up Heatran's greatest weakness while also providing it with a form of passive recovery. There are a couple more options for Heatran's fourth moveslot: protect allows it to recover even more HP in grassy terrain so it can stick around in longer matches while nature power allows it to knock out some of the water types that would otherwise stonewall it (e.g. Gastrodon, Quagsire, Swampert, Rotom-Wash, etc), but are generally less consistent than setting hazards or spreading status.

Suggestion for Offensive Core:


Tapu Koko pivots out of ground types that wall it to bring in Urshifu-RS to take advantage of with surging strikes, while the latter either does the same with u-turn on bulky water types that check it or uses thunder punch to break through said checks with the electric terrain boost. Note that u-turn is preferred if Urshifu-RS is running protective pads instead of choice band because thunder punch will not be strong enough to break through its checks even with the terrain boost.

 

[NeonJolteonWasUsed]

Offensive Cores are up! Defensive Cores are expected to be coming soon. If anyone has any more they would like to see added let me know!

 

[uppa]

I’d like to nominate Tornadus-T and Toxapex as a defensive core, and Slowbro and Weavile as a balanced core.

Tornadus-T + Toxapex
These two form an amazing regenerator core that can help control the pace of the game against many team archetypes. Knock off, haze, Rocky helmet, and torn's ability to consistently threaten out mons that threaten to break past pex such as Kartana, Lando, and Rillaboom helps the two support each other very well. Both mons are able to force progress and generally keep a lot of the tier at bay. The mons that threaten the core such as Koko and zapdos are both checked by easily splashable options such as Spdef lando, ferrothorn, and galarian slowking.

Slowbro + Weavile
The notorious future-port pivot of the gen pairs, unsurprisingly, very well with arguably the best wallbreaker in the tier. Slowbro brings a ton of defensive utility, hard-countering urshifu-r and melmetal while coming in on passive mons to set up a future sight and bring in weavile safely. While weavile mostly acts as an elite revenge killer and wallbreaker with future sight support, it has a niche capability to take up to two shadow balls from Dragapult before not being able to switch in safely, shoring up Slowbro's crippling ghost weakness fairly well. The two are able to get a lot of work done, and can poke holes or play more defensively and reactively as needed, making it a fairly balanced duo.​

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Offensive Cores are up! Defensive Cores are expected to be coming soon. If anyone has any more they would like to see added let me know!

Offensive cores are updated! Please read some of the notes in the pokepastes if you want to avoid getting farmed by tntblader on ladder

 

[tntblader]

Offensive cores are updated! Please read some of the notes in the pokepastes if you want to avoid getting farmed by tntblader on ladder

Nah, I'd win. ill adapt and ill come back and when i do nobody will be safe :3

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Defensive cores are out! Balanced cores will be released shortly.

 

[Slowpoke Fan]

Balanced cores are out! Feel free to submit cores that you feel have been left out.