VGC 15 - Good Cores

[Steven Stone]

Balanced Core:

Milotic @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 236 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpA / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Icy Wind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Protect

Arcanine @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Atk / 148 Def / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
- ExtremeSpeed

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 HP / 148 Def / 104 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Sleep Powder
- Protect

A traditional FWG core that has seen a bit of growing traction given what i've seen, these three offer a fairly decent Balanced core with a slight bias on defense.

Arcanine can come in with either two, pulling off an intimidate to help supplement either teammate's bulk. Both teammates also don't mind receiving an intimidate themselves, especially Milotic who receives a nice Special Attack boost. Arcanine can continue to spread status once it's on the field, or go straight for Offense using Flare Blitz. Extremespeed can be used to get in front of weakened threats and net a nice KO.

Milotic can help with speed control, using Icy Wind to force switches by your opponent. Scald helps Milotic score some burn hits, while Ice Beam can help take down Landorus-T and Mega Salamence. Sitrus berry helps Milotic stay longer on the field. Scald can be taken off for Hydro Pump if you're aiming for more power, or are using a support Arcanine.

Mega Venusaur has proven to be a rather Anti-Meta choice so far, with it's considerable bulk and access to Giga Drain a tough kill. Putting it into play with Arcanine means you have a nice resistance to Fairy Type moves (such as Hyper Voice Sylveon). The EV spread allows Venusaur to even out its defenses and Maximise bulk, as well as allow it to speed creep on other uninvested mons in its speed tier. Giga drain allows Venusaur to keep itself in play longer, and Sludge Bomb hits other grass types and Fairies for large chunks (in particular Whimsicott will take a hefty blow). Sleep powder allows Venusaur to provide some utility, as a sleeping foe is a vunerable foe.

This core would be complimented quite well by Offensive teammates, as this core focuses on Bulk. Tailwind support could be handy to help this team get the jump on other opponents while allowing you retain much of your bulk outside of Tailwind.

I feel like Arcanine could have Snarl for the most part, given that the core dislikes Gardevoir+Breloom shenanigans, and Snarlcanine can handle both of them. That's the same reason why i use Snarl Entei.

 

[LanceLercher]

----->

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 68 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature Bold Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect / Worry Seed

Sylveon @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
EVs: 52 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 204 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Hyper Beam
- Shadow Ball / Psyshock
- Helping Hand

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Iron Tail / U-turn

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Snarl


Now although this core is missing a fire pokemon to make it FWG+, it actually works wonders for what it does. The only problem with it is that it is very special attack oriented with the exception of Lando and Sylveon's Psyshock. The single biggest threat to the core seems to be Bisharp, but I think Suicune could help turn the tides with a good Tailwind and a good predict so you can switch in Sylveon. The second biggest threat would probably be Cresselia.

Now for the strengths. So this team has one of the strongest leads I've seen, which is this Sylveon and Lando. It puts on tons of offensive pressure to start and it can put your opponent down 1.5 pokemon almost every time it leads. This is because Lando and Sylveon can take most physical attacks with that intimidate drop, and the only real special checks to Lando are **ice**, water, and hyper offensive special attackers. Plus the only real water attacks that one hit Lando are Rain teams. If you can get a solid predict for pokemon that stay in, you're pretty much guaranteed a KO with hyper beam on anything that doesn't resist its fairy goodness. It's best not to use hyper beam, but it can really catch your opponent off guard if you pick up a KO that Hyper Voice wouldn't have got. If you really fear the typical special Aegislash then shadowball is the better option, since you should be able to speed creep them, and both pokemon take two hits to KO. If you have other pokemon that you feel take out Aegislash better, which I actually feel Lando and Suicune are there for, then Psyshock is the better option since hyper voice does more to ghosts than shadow ball. Plus, Psyshock 2 hit KOs Mega Venusaur, which was actually a big wall to this core in testing; if you can get a tailwind up, and little or no damage on Sylveon into the next turn (Suicune is good Venusaur bait in this circumstance), you can win the battle against it's sludge bomb as well usually. The 4 EV's in speed make sure you outpace other Sylveons and other uninvested base 60s (the 244 SP At. vs 252 is not really that big of a deal in almost all damage calcs), and the 4 in defense is just so the EVs aren't wasted. As a final note on these two, the helping hand on Sylveon is just mean when paired with Lando, just remember that helping handing iron tail is very risky (which if it hits, can actually pick up some awesome Fairy KOs).

The Suicune is such a clutch pokemon for late or early game. It's EV spread and moves are stole directly from Aaron Zheng's Mega Venusaur Team. It one hit KOs Mega Salamence with no Sp. Def investment. The Def and Sp. Def are just enough to help it survive most super effective special attacks, and the super offensive normal hits from Kangs and Landos. It provides the opposite support of Lando with Snarl for the Sp. Attack drop, which supports Mega Venusaur the most. The Tailwind can provide early support to make sure your Lando is going to be the fastest pokemon on the field and also give that nice boost to the slower Venusaur and Sylveon. Suicune can take any ice attack that your opponents throw at Lando with little effort. Also, it's that classic bulky water type that if your opponent isn't prepared for then you gain lots of frustration bonus points. Suicune is good as a lead, but even better as a switch in, in my experience.

The Venusaur is the anti-meta beast that almost every team could benefit from. Although you can lead with Venusaur, it really likes to take switch in hits and spores as well as come in late game to take on any early switch outs and those support pokemon that just don't do much damage. I opted for Leaf Storm instead of Giga Drain, because in testing it just wasn't doing that much more than the leech seeds were doing. Plus, the Leaf Storm can actually pick up some one hit KOs on pokemon that would normally KO or just barely outlast Venusaur. Leech seed and protect make Venusuar just that much harder to kill. Although protect should be pretty obvious on Venusaur, it seems as though if you don't lead with it, most opponents won't predict it when you first use it, which acts as the perfect time to set up with Suicune or get a crucial KO. The EV spread is similar to Suicune in that it came from Aaron Zheng, but I subtracted 8 EVs from SP. Att to get the free bonus +1 into Def from one set of EVs instead of two. I've yet to test Worry Seed on Venusaur, but it catches so many people off guard when used on Ferrothorn instead of protect that it could be very good.

As far as typing goes, whenever Venusaur goes Mega, this core doesn't have a single type that two pokemon are weak two; plus, it resists Fighting 3x over,water and bug 2x, with 1 immunity to ground, electric, and dragon, plus 8 more resistances. This leaves only 5 types that hit every pokemon for at least neutral damage, and only flying and psychic of those 5 types that also do 2x to anything (Venusaur). In total the team also only has 8 type weaknesses surprisingly exactly 2 per pokemon. Suicune is the perfect switch in for Lando. Suicune and Lando are decent switch ins for Venusaur. Lando and Venusaur are really good switch ins for Suicune. Lando is probably the best switch in for Sylveon, but Suicune is alright too.

Since Suicune and Venusaur are really bulky, switching in and out Lando a couple times can actually be better than attacking in some situations in the mid to late game just as a side note. In testing, it seems as though flying, steel, and fire types really help round out the team. Sash Talonflame turned out to be a good fifth member, but it really just depends as to what would be the best pokemon to fill the final 2 slots after this core.

 

[Ksh13]

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 68 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect / Worry Seed

Sylveon @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
EVs: 52 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 204 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Hyper Beam
- Shadow Ball / Psyshock
- Helping Hand

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Iron Tail

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Snarl


Now although this core is missing a fire pokemon to make it FWG+, it actually works wonders for what it does. The only problem with it is that it is very special attack oriented with the exception of Lando and Sylveon's Psyshock. The single biggest threat to the core seems to be Bisharp, but I think Suicune could help turn the tides with a good Tailwind and a good predict so you can switch in Sylveon. The second biggest threat would probably be Cresselia.

Now for the strengths. So this team has one of the strongest leads I've seen, which is this Sylveon and Lando. It puts on tons of offensive pressure to start and it can put your opponent down 1.5 pokemon almost every time it leads. This is because Lando and Sylveon can take most physical attacks with that intimidate drop, and the only real special checks to Lando are **ice**, water, and hyper offensive special attackers. Plus the only real water attacks that one hit Lando are Rain teams. If you can get a solid predict for pokemon that stay in, you're pretty much guaranteed a KO with hyper beam on anything that doesn't resist its fairy goodness. It's best not to use hyper beam, but it can really catch your opponent off guard if you pick up a KO that Hyper Voice wouldn't have got. If you really fear the typical special Aegislash then shadowball is the better option, since you should be able to speed creep them, and both pokemon take two hits to KO. If you have other pokemon that you feel take out Aegislash better, which I actually feel Lando and Suicune are there for, then Psyshock is the better option since hyper voice does more to ghosts than shadow ball. Plus, Psyshock 2 hit KOs Mega Venusaur, which was actually a big wall to this core in testing; if you can get a tailwind up, and little or no damage on Sylveon into the next turn (Suicune is good Venusaur bait in this circumstance), you can win the battle against it's sludge bomb as well usually. The 4 EV's in speed make sure you outpace other Sylveons and other uninvested base 60s (the 244 SP At. vs 252 is not really that big of a deal in almost all damage calcs), and the 4 in defense is just so the EVs aren't wasted. As a final note on these two, the helping hand on Sylveon is just mean when paired with Lando, just remember that helping handing iron tail is very risky (which if it hits, can actually pick up some awesome Fairy KOs).

The Suicune is such a clutch pokemon for late or early game. It's EV spread and moves are stole directly from Aaron Zheng's Mega Venusaur Team. It one hit KOs Mega Salamence with no Sp. Def investment. The Def and Sp. Def are just enough to help it survive most super effective special attacks, and the super offensive normal hits from Kangs and Landos. It provides the opposite support of Lando with Snarl for the Sp. Attack drop, which supports Mega Venusaur the most. The Tailwind can provide early support to make sure your Lando is going to be the fastest pokemon on the field and also give that nice boost to the slower Venusaur and Sylveon. Suicune can take any ice attack that your opponents throw at Lando with little effort. Also, it's that classic bulky water type that if your opponent isn't prepared for then you gain lots of frustration bonus points. Suicune is good as a lead, but even better as a switch in, in my experience.

The Venusaur is the anti-meta beast that almost every team could benefit from. Although you can lead with Venusaur, it really likes to take switch in hits and spores as well as come in late game to take on any early switch outs and those support pokemon that just don't do much damage. I opted for Leaf Storm instead of Giga Drain, because in testing it just wasn't doing that much more than the leech seeds were doing. Plus, the Leaf Storm can actually pick up some one hit KOs on pokemon that would normally KO or just barely outlast Venusaur. Leech seed and protect make Venusuar just that much harder to kill. Although protect should be pretty obvious on Venusaur, it seems as though if you don't lead with it, most opponents won't predict it when you first use it, which acts as the perfect time to set up with Suicune or get a crucial KO. The EV spread is similar to Suicune in that it came from Aaron Zheng, but I subtracted 8 EVs from SP. Att to get the free bonus +1 into Def from one set of EVs instead of two. I've yet to test Worry Seed on Venusaur, but it catches so many people off guard when used on Ferrothorn instead of protect that it could be very good.

As far as typing goes, whenever Venusaur goes Mega, this core doesn't have a single type that two pokemon are weak two; plus, it resists Fighting 3x over,water and bug 2x, with 1 immunity to ground, electric, and dragon, plus 8 more resistances. This leaves only 5 types that hit every pokemon for at least neutral damage, and only flying and psychic of those 5 types that also do 2x to anything (Venusaur). In total the team also only has 8 type weaknesses surprisingly exactly 2 per pokemon. Suicune is the perfect switch in for Lando. Suicune and Lando are decent switch ins for Venusaur. Lando and Venusaur are really good switch ins for Suicune. Lando is probably the best switch in for Sylveon, but Suicune is alright too.

Since Suicune and Venusaur are really bulky, switching in and out Lando a couple times can actually be better than attacking in some situations in the mid to late game just as a side note. In testing, it seems as though flying, steel, and fire types really help round out the team. Sash Talonflame turned out to be a good fifth member, but it really just depends as to what would be the best pokemon to fill the final 2 slots after this core.

I have a couple of questions and comments about your core. First of, I feel like 4 Pokemon is a bit too much to call it a core, it is more of an unfinished team. Secondly, why Iron Tail on Landorus-T? When you are Banded you actually OHKO non-bulky Gardevoir with Earthquake, and do 71%-85% to 252 HP Sylveon. Couple that with any attack from your other Pokemon, and it's knocked out. U-turn is a better option for that slot, as it allows Lando-T to get out and come back in with Intimidate while still hitting quite hard, especially when you are Banded. I could understand Iron Tail on an Assault Vest Landorus-T, as it can get the surprise KO and go back to Rock Sliding without switching, but I still wouldn't have used it due to its shaky accuracy. When you run Sylveon without a Choice item, you need Protect. It is basically the only reason for why people don't go choiced, since you don't really go for anything else than Hyper Voice to begin with. Could you also explain the EV spread on your Sylveon? I don't get what you want SpDef investment for, since Sylveon is bulky enough on the special side already. Also, your Venusaur spread is basically Cybertron's, except he used Bold nature over Calm. You need the correct nature in order for the spread to do what it was built to do, so fix that if you want to use Cybertron's spread properly. I am also confident that you need Protect over Worry Seed, since Protect is indeed a neccessity. You might think that you can catch your opponent off guard by not going for Protect, but there are those times where you straight up needed it in order to win. It is also good to have Protect on as many Pokemon as possible on a team with Landorus-T, as it can go for an Earthquake when your other Pokemon Protect if it wants to get of a lot of damage and fears that it will get knocked out anyways that round.

 

[ProjectTitan313]

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 68 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect / Worry Seed

Sylveon @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
EVs: 52 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 204 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Hyper Beam
- Shadow Ball / Psyshock
- Helping Hand

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- Iron Tail

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Snarl


Now although this core is missing a fire pokemon to make it FWG+, it actually works wonders for what it does. The only problem with it is that it is very special attack oriented with the exception of Lando and Sylveon's Psyshock. The single biggest threat to the core seems to be Bisharp, but I think Suicune could help turn the tides with a good Tailwind and a good predict so you can switch in Sylveon. The second biggest threat would probably be Cresselia.

Now for the strengths. So this team has one of the strongest leads I've seen, which is this Sylveon and Lando. It puts on tons of offensive pressure to start and it can put your opponent down 1.5 pokemon almost every time it leads. This is because Lando and Sylveon can take most physical attacks with that intimidate drop, and the only real special checks to Lando are **ice**, water, and hyper offensive special attackers. Plus the only real water attacks that one hit Lando are Rain teams. If you can get a solid predict for pokemon that stay in, you're pretty much guaranteed a KO with hyper beam on anything that doesn't resist its fairy goodness. It's best not to use hyper beam, but it can really catch your opponent off guard if you pick up a KO that Hyper Voice wouldn't have got. If you really fear the typical special Aegislash then shadowball is the better option, since you should be able to speed creep them, and both pokemon take two hits to KO. If you have other pokemon that you feel take out Aegislash better, which I actually feel Lando and Suicune are there for, then Psyshock is the better option since hyper voice does more to ghosts than shadow ball. Plus, Psyshock 2 hit KOs Mega Venusaur, which was actually a big wall to this core in testing; if you can get a tailwind up, and little or no damage on Sylveon into the next turn (Suicune is good Venusaur bait in this circumstance), you can win the battle against it's sludge bomb as well usually. The 4 EV's in speed make sure you outpace other Sylveons and other uninvested base 60s (the 244 SP At. vs 252 is not really that big of a deal in almost all damage calcs), and the 4 in defense is just so the EVs aren't wasted. As a final note on these two, the helping hand on Sylveon is just mean when paired with Lando, just remember that helping handing iron tail is very risky (which if it hits, can actually pick up some awesome Fairy KOs).

The Suicune is such a clutch pokemon for late or early game. It's EV spread and moves are stole directly from Aaron Zheng's Mega Venusaur Team. It one hit KOs Mega Salamence with no Sp. Def investment. The Def and Sp. Def are just enough to help it survive most super effective special attacks, and the super offensive normal hits from Kangs and Landos. It provides the opposite support of Lando with Snarl for the Sp. Attack drop, which supports Mega Venusaur the most. The Tailwind can provide early support to make sure your Lando is going to be the fastest pokemon on the field and also give that nice boost to the slower Venusaur and Sylveon. Suicune can take any ice attack that your opponents throw at Lando with little effort. Also, it's that classic bulky water type that if your opponent isn't prepared for then you gain lots of frustration bonus points. Suicune is good as a lead, but even better as a switch in, in my experience.

The Venusaur is the anti-meta beast that almost every team could benefit from. Although you can lead with Venusaur, it really likes to take switch in hits and spores as well as come in late game to take on any early switch outs and those support pokemon that just don't do much damage. I opted for Leaf Storm instead of Giga Drain, because in testing it just wasn't doing that much more than the leech seeds were doing. Plus, the Leaf Storm can actually pick up some one hit KOs on pokemon that would normally KO or just barely outlast Venusaur. Leech seed and protect make Venusuar just that much harder to kill. Although protect should be pretty obvious on Venusaur, it seems as though if you don't lead with it, most opponents won't predict it when you first use it, which acts as the perfect time to set up with Suicune or get a crucial KO. The EV spread is similar to Suicune in that it came from Aaron Zheng, but I subtracted 8 EVs from SP. Att to get the free bonus +1 into Def from one set of EVs instead of two. I've yet to test Worry Seed on Venusaur, but it catches so many people off guard when used on Ferrothorn instead of protect that it could be very good.

As far as typing goes, whenever Venusaur goes Mega, this core doesn't have a single type that two pokemon are weak two; plus, it resists Fighting 3x over,water and bug 2x, with 1 immunity to ground, electric, and dragon, plus 8 more resistances. This leaves only 5 types that hit every pokemon for at least neutral damage, and only flying and psychic of those 5 types that also do 2x to anything (Venusaur). In total the team also only has 8 type weaknesses surprisingly exactly 2 per pokemon. Suicune is the perfect switch in for Lando. Suicune and Lando are decent switch ins for Venusaur. Lando and Venusaur are really good switch ins for Suicune. Lando is probably the best switch in for Sylveon, but Suicune is alright too.

Since Suicune and Venusaur are really bulky, switching in and out Lando a couple times can actually be better than attacking in some situations in the mid to late game just as a side note. In testing, it seems as though flying, steel, and fire types really help round out the team. Sash Talonflame turned out to be a good fifth member, but it really just depends as to what would be the best pokemon to fill the final 2 slots after this core.

First things first, I'm not a teambuilder in the OP, so I might be overstepping bounds here a bit idk.

Starting with Lando+Sylveon, yes, you need Protect if you even want to consider clicking Earthquake. Shadow Ball is useless on Sylveon; it literally only hits Aegislash, which wins a 1v1 exchange anyway; Gengar is either Sashed, and will 2HKO and outrun, or it's a bulky Mega Gengar and will simply PerishTrap and Disable your hopes and dreams. Psyshock also hits Gengar super effectively, with equal power, on its weaker Def. Against Aegislash, it greatly fears Mega Venusaur; I've used Mega Venu (and Aegislash for that matter) a long time - just click Leech Seed and Aegislash will kneel to its damnation. Between that and Landog you really have zero fear of it so Psyshock seems a lot more useful. Fairies, you do, imo, have a marked issue; Gardevoir especially. Protect+Leech Seed lets Mega Venusaur stave off Sylveon for a while, but Gardevoir tends to just nuke it and laugh. Sylveon does nothing to Gardevoir, Landog cringes from a Psychic or Hyper Voice, but Gardevoir doesn't take the EQ very well either. I'm agreeing with Ksh13, U-Turn would help out more than Iron Tail most likely. Venusaur, Leaf Storm sounds fun, so I won't argue it. :P
Worry Seed, I can personally attest that Ability manipulation in Doubles is amazing, as my BW2 team revolved around it and I've had success with Skill Swap Cresselia and Entrainment Plusle. Venusaur would be probably hilarious with it; but it'd be a lot more useful on ChloroSaur to outrun and eliminate MegaMence, MegaKhan, Heatran, etc. So no, it's not a bad idea at all, just not that great for MegaSaur :P
I'd also rework Sylveon's spread; I don't know what the Sp. Def accomplishes but the physical bulk is waaaaay too low; 76 Speed EV's also let Sylveon function in Tailwind much better. It outruns max Speed Thundurus-I. I think most Suicune also run 20(?) EVs to outrun Scarf Adamant Landog in Tailwind, tweak Suicune a bit for that.
But anyway, tl;dr:

core changes (bold)

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 68 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect

I think Ksh said Bold on Venusaur right?

Sylveon @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 180 Def / 244 Sp. Atk / 76 Speed
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice (I've learned to respect Sylveon's Hyper Beam, it has dealt more than one crippling blow to me)
- Hyper Beam
- Psyshock
- Protect

Outruns Max Speed Thundurus-I/Tornadus-I/the big 110 Speed benchmark under Tailwind.
Sp. Atk, I kept at near max, 4 HP prevents LO from a 10-turn KO (inconsequential in VGC, I know), and the Def + Intimidate keeps Sylveon around as long as possible.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- U-Turn

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Snarl

Now, as for the last two members, we have holes to fill:

1) Did you notice that Ferrothorn almost perfectly walls you? CB Superpower hurts, but it's a shaky check.
2) Landorus has trouble spamming EQ with no teammates immune to it. Protect is great, but useless if you have to switch in or need a 2HKO.
3) Gardevoir is a problem, especially supported by Amoonguss or Milotic.
4) You have trouble breaking Cresselia. U-Turn on Landog will help with that; Leech Seed + Poison damage from Venusaur does too. But CM Cress does exist.

Got a few remedies, of course. A good Fire type smokes 1 and 3, and most have pretty good offense to beat up Cress with. The top reccomend from my standpoint is Heatran: it demolishes Ferrothorn, makes an insane defensive partner to Mega Venusaur, crushes every Fairy in the game bar none, and takes advantage of Char-Y (which demolishes you once Landog is eliminated or locked on something other than Rock Slide, btw). It sponges WoW aimed at Landog (Gengar being a classic example) and functions well in Tailwind, and bulky enough to survive without it. You have its weaknesses (Ground, Fighting, Water) well covered. Unresisted types, you check off Normal and Flying as well.
I will cover the set in a bit.

With 1 and 3 checked off, and Cress under a a good bit of pressure, we can have all sorts of fun with the last slot and #2. insert poop joke.

So why not fuck with people's heads a bit and throw in Hydreigon. Nothing really crushes hope like a giant, flying, 3-headed dragon infused with dark powers and a psychotic homicidal rage that causes it to kill shit. But mostly, we need a list of features:
> Cresselia and Aegislash really hate Hydreigon and its crushing, haxxy Dark Pulse.
> Landorus adores a specially powerful ally immune to Ground. Allows you to Protect -> switch to Hydreigon for an EQ 2HKO.
> It does amazing things to your type chart - you resist EVERY type in the game bar Rock (no weaknesses to it, either).
> Hydreigon, Landorus-T, and Sylveon are all commonly Choiced: it bluffs that you might be running Specs on Sylveon OR Hydreigon, and Scarf on Landog OR Hydreigon, the question is: who holds what? It creates mindgames, and forces scouting. Heatran also packs Scarf now and again.
> Hydreigon's weaknesses are again, fully covered. Fairy allergy backed by two of the best fairy killers in the game.
> Adds flexibility. You'll see in a sec.

So, for Heatran and Hydreigon, sets and what they do:

H&H

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Modest, 168 HP / 252 Sp. Atk / 88 Speed
Ability: Flash Fire

- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon

Outruns Scarf Adamant Landog in Tailwind (96.5% chance to 2HKO with Heat Wave, you aren't OHKO'd).
Shuca lets it tank any reasonable EQ, and all but the mightiest Earth Power and Drill Run.
Solid 2HKO on Sylveon with Flash Cannon; Gardevoir varies based on bulk but doesn't fare well at all. If TR Amoonguss, or Breloom, is trouble, Saftey Goggles on Heatran works.


Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Modest, 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Speed
Ability: Levitate

- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower / Rock Slide

Standard Scarfed wrecking ball. Fire Blast hits Amoonguss harder, and is better to be locked into especially in Sun. Flamethrower if accuracy is an issue. Scarfed Rock Slide is the biggest dick on Earth; the damage is a mere side effect to the mass flinching but crushes Char-Y for you. No one ever expects it on Hydreigon either. Scarf for a speedy hit outside Tailwind, and to hold advantage in Tailwind vs Tailwind duels.

And finished product:

this looks fun can I steal it

 

[LanceLercher]

I have a couple of questions and comments about your core. First of, I feel like 4 Pokemon is a bit too much to call it a core, it is more of an unfinished team. Secondly, why Iron Tail on Landorus-T? When you are Banded you actually OHKO non-bulky Gardevoir with Earthquake, and do 71%-85% to 252 HP Sylveon. Couple that with any attack from your other Pokemon, and it's knocked out. U-turn is a better option for that slot, as it allows Lando-T to get out and come back in with Intimidate while still hitting quite hard, especially when you are Banded. I could understand Iron Tail on an Assault Vest Landorus-T, as it can get the surprise KO and go back to Rock Sliding without switching, but I still wouldn't have used it due to its shaky accuracy. When you run Sylveon without a Choice item, you need Protect. It is basically the only reason for why people don't go choiced, since you don't really go for anything else than Hyper Voice to begin with. Could you also explain the EV spread on your Sylveon? I don't get what you want SpDef investment for, since Sylveon is bulky enough on the special side already. Also, your Venusaur spread is basically Cybertron's, except he used Bold nature over Calm. You need the correct nature in order for the spread to do what it was built to do, so fix that if you want to use Cybertron's spread properly. I am also confident that you need Protect over Worry Seed, since Protect is indeed a neccessity. You might think that you can catch your opponent off guard by not going for Protect, but there are those times where you straight up needed it in order to win. It is also good to have Protect on as many Pokemon as possible on a team with Landorus-T, as it can go for an Earthquake when your other Pokemon Protect if it wants to get of a lot of damage and fears that it will get knocked out anyways that round.

So I'm not really sure why I had Calm nature on Venusaur, but I changed to bold like it was supposed to be. Now, saying that 4 pokemon is too much for a core isn't really fair, whenever there are quite a few people that consider 4 pokemon as a type of core, plus a core is a solid base for a team that covers each other well which is exactly what this is going for. The reason I have Iron Tail there instead of U-Turn is because it really does give me a safe single targeting into fairys without killing my teamates that forgo protect for more variety and support A.K.A. Sylveon's Helping Hand and Suicune's Snarl. Iron Tail is not on Lando because it has perfect accuracy, it is on Lando for whenever there isn't as much risk to just go for the KO onto any Fairy (Defensively invested or not) and the occasional rock type to just take out a threat when switching on either of your pokemon is not a great option, plus it has that great last chance potential on the right pokemon. I do however, see the potential for U-Turn on it instead because I really do see the threat that Cress puts against the core. I guess the reason I also don't have protect on Sylveon is because like I said, helping hand turns Lando into more of a beast, and it supports Suicune's lack of one hit KOs a little better. I've found that a Helping Hand Rock Slide does almost as much as Earthquake in a lot of situations. And the final reason is that Sylveon can take one earthquake from this Lando (which is nearly the strongest Lando out there) and get some damage off before it dies (since people expect the protect on Sylveon if they know Lando has earthquake) as long as you have decent predicts or you somehow out-speed (tailwind-ed or otherwise). I get that protect is crucial on Venusaur, I just figured maybe worry seed would have some potential, just for shigles. The EV spread on Sylveon either came from some damage calcs I researched or from someone else's spread as far as the sp def goes; I'll have to go back and search to see what lead me to it, although I think it came from some damage calcs I did. I figured the Sylveon could use some EV tweaking though, I just needed to put it out there to see what input I could receive from it.

 

[Demantoid]

First things first, I'm not a teambuilder in the OP, so I might be overstepping bounds here a bit idk.

Starting with Lando+Sylveon, yes, you need Protect if you even want to consider clicking Earthquake. Shadow Ball is useless on Sylveon; it literally only hits Aegislash, which wins a 1v1 exchange anyway; Gengar is either Sashed, and will 2HKO and outrun, or it's a bulky Mega Gengar and will simply PerishTrap and Disable your hopes and dreams. Psyshock also hits Gengar super effectively, with equal power, on its weaker Def. Against Aegislash, it greatly fears Mega Venusaur; I've used Mega Venu (and Aegislash for that matter) a long time - just click Leech Seed and Aegislash will kneel to its damnation. Between that and Landog you really have zero fear of it so Psyshock seems a lot more useful. Fairies, you do, imo, have a marked issue; Gardevoir especially. Protect+Leech Seed lets Mega Venusaur stave off Sylveon for a while, but Gardevoir tends to just nuke it and laugh. Sylveon does nothing to Gardevoir, Landog cringes from a Psychic or Hyper Voice, but Gardevoir doesn't take the EQ very well either. I'm agreeing with Ksh13, U-Turn would help out more than Iron Tail most likely. Venusaur, Leaf Storm sounds fun, so I won't argue it. :P
Worry Seed, I can personally attest that Ability manipulation in Doubles is amazing, as my BW2 team revolved around it and I've had success with Skill Swap Cresselia and Entrainment Plusle. Venusaur would be probably hilarious with it; but it'd be a lot more useful on ChloroSaur to outrun and eliminate MegaMence, MegaKhan, Heatran, etc. So no, it's not a bad idea at all, just not that great for MegaSaur :P
I'd also rework Sylveon's spread; I don't know what the Sp. Def accomplishes but the physical bulk is waaaaay too low; 76 Speed EV's also let Sylveon function in Tailwind much better. It outruns max Speed Thundurus-I. I think most Suicune also run 20(?) EVs to outrun Scarf Adamant Landog in Tailwind, tweak Suicune a bit for that.
But anyway, tl;dr:

core changes (bold)

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 68 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Sludge Bomb
- Leech Seed
- Protect

I think Ksh said Bold on Venusaur right?

Sylveon @ Life Orb
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 180 Def / 244 Sp. Atk / 76 Speed
Modest Nature
- Hyper Voice (I've learned to respect Sylveon's Hyper Beam, it has dealt more than one crippling blow to me)
- Hyper Beam
- Psyshock
- Protect

Outruns Max Speed Thundurus-I/Tornadus-I/the big 110 Speed benchmark under Tailwind.
Sp. Atk, I kept at near max, 4 HP prevents LO from a 10-turn KO (inconsequential in VGC, I know), and the Def + Intimidate keeps Sylveon around as long as possible.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- U-Turn

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Ice Beam
- Scald
- Snarl

Now, as for the last two members, we have holes to fill:

1) Did you notice that Ferrothorn almost perfectly walls you? CB Superpower hurts, but it's a shaky check.
2) Landorus has trouble spamming EQ with no teammates immune to it. Protect is great, but useless if you have to switch in or need a 2HKO.
3) Gardevoir is a problem, especially supported by Amoonguss or Milotic.
4) You have trouble breaking Cresselia. U-Turn on Landog will help with that; Leech Seed + Poison damage from Venusaur does too. But CM Cress does exist.

Got a few remedies, of course. A good Fire type smokes 1 and 3, and most have pretty good offense to beat up Cress with. The top reccomend from my standpoint is Heatran: it demolishes Ferrothorn, makes an insane defensive partner to Mega Venusaur, crushes every Fairy in the game bar none, and takes advantage of Char-Y (which demolishes you once Landog is eliminated or locked on something other than Rock Slide, btw). It sponges WoW aimed at Landog (Gengar being a classic example) and functions well in Tailwind, and bulky enough to survive without it. You have its weaknesses (Ground, Fighting, Water) well covered. Unresisted types, you check off Normal and Flying as well.
I will cover the set in a bit.

With 1 and 3 checked off, and Cress under a a good bit of pressure, we can have all sorts of fun with the last slot and #2. insert poop joke.

So why not fuck with people's heads a bit and throw in Hydreigon. Nothing really crushes hope like a giant, flying, 3-headed dragon infused with dark powers and a psychotic homicidal rage that causes it to kill shit. But mostly, we need a list of features:
> Cresselia and Aegislash really hate Hydreigon and its crushing, haxxy Dark Pulse.
> Landorus adores a specially powerful ally immune to Ground. Allows you to Protect -> switch to Hydreigon for an EQ 2HKO.
> It does amazing things to your type chart - you resist EVERY type in the game bar Rock (no weaknesses to it, either).
> Hydreigon, Landorus-T, and Sylveon are all commonly Choiced: it bluffs that you might be running Specs on Sylveon OR Hydreigon, and Scarf on Landog OR Hydreigon, the question is: who holds what? It creates mindgames, and forces scouting. Heatran also packs Scarf now and again.
> Hydreigon's weaknesses are again, fully covered. Fairy allergy backed by two of the best fairy killers in the game.
> Adds flexibility. You'll see in a sec.

So, for Heatran and Hydreigon, sets and what they do:

H&H

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Modest, 168 HP / 252 Sp. Atk / 88 Speed
Ability: Flash Fire

- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon

Outruns Scarf Adamant Landog in Tailwind (96.5% chance to 2HKO with Heat Wave, you aren't OHKO'd).
Shuca lets it tank any reasonable EQ, and all but the mightiest Earth Power and Drill Run.
Solid 2HKO on Sylveon with Flash Cannon; Gardevoir varies based on bulk but doesn't fare well at all. If TR Amoonguss, or Breloom, is trouble, Saftey Goggles on Heatran works.


Hydreigon @ Choice Scarf
Modest, 252 Sp. Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Speed
Ability: Levitate

- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast / Flamethrower / Rock Slide

Standard Scarfed wrecking ball. Fire Blast hits Amoonguss harder, and is better to be locked into especially in Sun. Flamethrower if accuracy is an issue. Scarfed Rock Slide is the biggest dick on Earth; the damage is a mere side effect to the mass flinching but crushes Char-Y for you. No one ever expects it on Hydreigon either. Scarf for a speedy hit outside Tailwind, and to hold advantage in Tailwind vs Tailwind duels.

And finished product:

this looks fun can I steal it

This is the good cores thread not the team workshop but it does look like a cool team.

LanceLercher the Suicune's ev spread ohkos 4hp Lando not m-Salamence. I would also recommend making the speed evs 20 on it so it outspeeds scarfed Lando-t in Tailwind (take this out of SpD) and reworking the Sylveon's ev spread.

 

[LanceLercher]

This is the good cores thread not the team workshop but it does look like a cool team.

LanceLercher the Suicune's ev spread ohkos 4hp Lando not m-Salamence. I would also recommend making the speed evs 20 on it so it outspeeds scarfed Lando-t in Tailwind (take this out of SpD) and reworking the Sylveon's ev spread.

It actually does ohko uninvested M-Salamence about 50% of the time actually, I just checked. Thank you for the Sylveon help for the core.

 

[ProjectTitan313]

This is the good cores thread not the team workshop

Damn it I figured I was doing something stupid.

First off, yes you can steal it :) 2nd, I'm going to leave an analyzed reply and probably edit in near future, I just wanted to quick reply first with a comment and question. First off, I always figured heatran would be pretty much the perfect fit to go with the core, but I always had a problem with adding it because it would be yet another special attacker. And then adding Hydreigon, you add the fifth special attacker to the team. That's where I run into problems with rounding out the team after this core is because all the best fits seem to be special attackers. Any thoughts?

just PM me I've crossed the wrong thread enough already. ><

 

[HappyNap]

BALANCED

Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Thunderbolt
- Protect


Gengar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Icy Wind
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]


Arcanine @ Leftovers to
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 124 SpA / 4 SpD / 60 Spe er
Bold Nature
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Flame Thrower
- Helping Hand

The focus of this core is turn 1 control. Raichu is one of the fastets Fake Out users of the game, and also got Encore to either catch your opponent off guard or make him think twice on what move he wants to start out with. Lightning Rod, Raichus passive, provides nice support to its teammates, and Raichu is one of the best, if not THE best, counter to Thundurus. Raichu is also faster than Mega-Khan, discouraging him from using Fake-Out as he would otherwise be Encore-trapped. Gengar and Arcanine have a somewhat similair; They both provides turn 1 debuffs to the opponents. Max speed Timid Choice Scarf Gengar is faster than most things, immune to fake-out and can most anytime get an icy wind off. Alternatively, he can speed-creep other Gengars and similair threats and dent or KO them, having a wide movepool. Hidden Power Fire can be switched out with another move like thunderbolt or energy ball, whatever suits the team. Arcanine provides Intimidate support, something extremely valuable in the VGC format and Will-O-Wisp to further debuff physical attackers (looking at you here Mega-Khan). Snar is another great move, lowering the special attack. Flamethrower is the go-to stab move, hurting pesky grass and steel types. Helping Hand boost another teammates damage output, and can really hurt. Boasting some great bulk, Arcaning can take most any two hit and still stand, making it a great bulky support mon, unlike the other two in the core. I havent found anything this core is really weak to, as debuffs to your opponent (bar the few mons with contrary) is always helpfull. You do want some strong attackers though, as this core lacks a little in that department.

I go under tobi5703 in the replays;
videos to show off the core; http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotdoublesvgc2015-266716416 I play fairly poorly here, and is also up against a mirror match, but i think it showcase the core pretty well.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlespotdoublesvgc2015-267841576 This time with another team. This replay really shows off how Raichu wack Thundurus in the head, and how it supports mon weak to electric, which leads me to:


OFFENSE

Raichu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Lightning Rod
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Encore
- Thunderbolt
- Protect


Gyarados @ Wacan Berry
Ability: Moxie/Intimidate
EVs: 20 HP / 144 Atk / 28 Def / 72 SpD / 244 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Dragon Dance
- Protect

This core is pretty straight forward; Raichu provides Fake Out and Encore support and redirect annoying electric type attacks away from gyarados. Sash lets it live any one hit, meaning that it (usually) have to be double targeted to be KO'ed in the first turn. All of the beforemenetioned lets Gyarados set up D-Dance. The EV spread on Gyarados lets it suvirve 2 rock slides from max atk EV Choice Band Land-T or 3 hits from max atk EV Choice Scarf Land-T with a 90% chance to 2 Hit KO 52 defence EV Land-T, Sure 3 Hit KO on 252 Defence Land-T and sure 2 Hit KO on non-invested Land-T. The Invested Special defense EV's combined with the Wacan Berry usually lets it take a non-stab, non modified electric attack, IF Raichu would be KO'ed at the time. I prefer Moxie over Intimidate, as it lets Gyarados snowball, but that depends on preferences and team.

Nedless to say, Gyarados work well in conjuration with my first core too, but 4 mons is a little too much for a core, and since Gyarados and Raichu works so well together, i made a seperate core for them. Anyways, enjoy folks.
- HappyNap

 

[Simperheve]

I feel like Arcanine could have Snarl for the most part, given that the core dislikes Gardevoir+Breloom shenanigans, and Snarlcanine can handle both of them. That's the same reason why i use Snarl Entei.

Snarl would be beneficial for the core, yes. The main reason I chose an offensive moveset was because the core is quite lacking in offensive presence. Having part of the core with a bit of offensive prowess takes some of the pressure off the rest of the team and allows room for support moves such as Tailwind. If you wanted Snarl though, you could put it in over Extremespeed.

 

[Jio]

Balance Core

Cancer Core Double Genie!

So I noticed that this core hasn't been listed yet, which is a shame because they have obviously made a huge impact on the VGC 15' format. What makes these two so effective is the sheer amount of options that they present for the player. Offensive pressure, speed control, damage control, shifting momentum, and board positioning are among the many possibilities they offer. Thundurus is usually bulky to be able to spread around Paralysis which coincides with Landorus-T's Rock Slide to reduce your opponent's chance of pulling off a move that turn. Landorus-T can go several routes such as: Assault Vest, Choice Band, and Focus Sash. I chose Choice Scarf for this instance as it gives you a better matchup against Charizard-Y. As for the spreads, Thundurus is designed to live a Choice Specs Draco Meteor from Modest Hydreigon and outspeed max speed positive speed natured Smeargle. Landorus-T is designed to outspeed Naive Blaziken after a speed boost, survive a +1 Life Orb Bisharp, and a HP ice from 252 SpAtk neutral natured Thundurus-I.

Hide

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 236 HP / 204 SpD / 68 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt / Swagger

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 172 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Superpower
- U-turn / Stone Edge

Offense Core

Kangaskhan + Azumarill + Volcarona

I've used these three in the past personally and I can say that this is a very fun combo to use. The idea is to have Kangakshan provide a free setup for either Azumarill or Volcarona via Fake Out then try to plow through the opposing team as best as you can. Kangaskhan has a standard spread while Azumarill is meant to outspeed other Belly Drum Azumarill's by 2 points (to creep on the 20 speed Azumarill) and Volcarona is made to outspeed Jolly Scarf Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance. What's fun about this core is that each Pokemon has a set-up move that can turn them into a threat real fast, and they can each set up on each others counters. For example, Volcarona can set up Quiver Dances on Ferrothorn, Amoonguss, and Aegislash for Azumarill and Kangaskhan. Meanwhile, Kangaskhan can Power-Up Punch on Heatran and Tyranitar with relative ease for Volcarona and Azumarill gets a free Belly Drum off on Heatran for Volcarona as well. This core has a bit of a weakness to Mega Salamence which is why Tyranitar and Thundurus make solid partners.

Hide

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Protect

Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Bug Buzz / Giga Drain
- Protect

 

[ProjectTitan313]

Offense Core

Kangaskhan + Azumarill + Volcarona

I've used these three in the past personally and I can say that this is a very fun combo to use. The idea is to have Kangakshan provide a free setup for either Azumarill or Volcarona via Fake Out then try to plow through the opposing team as best as you can. Kangaskhan has a standard spread while Azumarill is meant to outspeed other Belly Drum Azumarill's by 2 points (to creep on the 20 speed Azumarill) and Volcarona is made to outspeed Jolly Scarf Landorus-T after a Quiver Dance. What's fun about this core is that each Pokemon has a set-up move that can turn them into a threat real fast, and they can each set up on each others counters. For example, Volcarona can set up Quiver Dances on Ferrothorn, Amoonguss, and Aegislash for Azumarill and Kangaskhan. Meanwhile, Kangaskhan can Power-Up Punch on Heatran and Tyranitar with relative ease for Volcarona and Azumarill gets a free Belly Drum off on Heatran for Volcarona as well. This core has a bit of a weakness to Mega Salamence which is why Tyranitar and Thundurus make solid partners.

Hide

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Protect

Volcarona @ Lum Berry
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
- Quiver Dance
- Flamethrower
- Bug Buzz / Giga Drain
- Protect

Khan and Volcarona, why did I never think of that one. Azumarill is good, but gives me an idea for something else...
If I ever get done with Mass Effect 2 I'll have to try something similar to this and toss it up here; right now the only core I have is my old and already posted Char-Y / Mega Venu / Swampert core.
What is Giga Drain hitting with Volc? I've used the great moth a fair bit but don't know why you'd give up Bug Buzz for even worse coverage. And, I think a support Volc with Rage Powder + Tailwind work well with these two as well, I don't know if that's worth adding?
Still, I like.

 

[Jio]

I'm not a huge fan of Giga Drain on Volcarona myself, but the peeps on IRC suggested it was viable for having a better matchup against bulky water types, which does help out Azumarill

 

[Steven Stone]

When you promise something, you must accomplish that promise. Here's my CressTran core!


Balance Core

Heatran @ Shuca Berry / Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave / Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Flash Cannon / Substitute / Ancient Power / Overheat
- Protect

Cresselia @ Safety Goggles / Sitrus Berry / Leftovers / Mental Herb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 4 SpA / 92 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind / Helping Hand / Safeguard / Skill Swap
- Psychic
- Icy Wind / Ice Beam / Moonblast
- Moonlight / Thunder Wave / Trick Room

(Yeah, i used Platinum Sprites. Wanna fight about it?)

Well, Mr. Typing of the Year award and Miss Bulk of the Year and Support of the Year awards have amazing synergy together, both offensively and defensively, and support wise as well. Heatran is a Fire / Steel type that can get rid of any Pokemon that Cresselia can't break, mainly Steel-types, but it also scares away Fairies which are usually Specially Defensive. Cresselia, in the other hand, can do A LOT of things for Heatran. And i mean A LOT!

First of all, Cresselia resist 2 of Heatran's main weaknesses, these being Ground and Fighting, and can scare Pokemon that has these typings with the Super Effective coverage Ice Beam and Psychic provides, doing a lot of damage to Pokemon like Landorus-T, Conkeldurr, Terrakion, Breloom, and the list goes on.

It also provides crucial speed control Heatran needs to succeed, as its base 77 Speed leaves it in a very vulnerable speed tier. Cresselia learns 3 different speed control methods. YEAH, THREE.
Cresselia can slow down Pokemon like Landorus-T, Thundurus and Mega Salamence with Icy Wind, while hitting these Pokemon for decent chip damage Heatran appreciates to score KOs. On the other hand, Thunder Wave, even when it's really passive, it's a speed control method that last for the entire match, making Heatran have a better standing against Pokemon like Terrakion, Hydreigon or Breloom. Lastly, Trick Room makes Cresselia shine brighter as it sits at a below-than-average speed tier (base 85), making it a really dangerous Pokemon under Trick Room. Heatran is really slow as well, so it also benefits it in its matchup against Kangaskhan, Landorus-T and Terrakion.

Finally, Cresselia can support Heatran with other support options, such as Helping Hand, Skill Swap and Safeguard. Helping Hand makes Heatran score ridiculous OHKOs against Pokemon such as Amoonguss, Mega Gardevoir and Sylveon, while Safeguard... ehh, let's say Safeguard stop Thundurus' Swagger shenanigans from going on later in the match. Lastly, Skill Swap gives Heatran Levitate, and can also mess up with opposing Pokemon's abilities.

The EV spread in Heatran allows it to outspeed neutral nature base 70s, while maximizing its offensive power and with that little defensive investment, take important attacks such as Landorus-T's Earthquake (with Shuca) and -1 Mega Kangaskhan's Low Kick. On the other hand, the EV spread on Cresselia allows it to take Bisharp's Knock Off 100% of the time, survive 3 Brave Birds from Talonflame, and outspeed 4 Spe Rotom forms.

 

[Ksh13]

Sun and Semi-TR Core

​

You have probably seen this core before (iirc lucariojr even made a NB report on a team with this core in it), and it is quite neat. Char Y provides sun which helps Rhyperior against Water-types, and nukes everything with a Grass-typing. Cresselia gives Helping Hand support to make the spread attacks from the other two hit harder than you thought was possible, and also provides TR support for Rhyperior, which also can be nice for bulky Char Y, in addition to beating Landorus-T for Char Y with Ice Beam. Rhyperior doesn't really help the other two with much, the core is more about supporting Rhyperior and not Rhyperior supporting others. Also notice that Char Y and Cresselia allow Rhyperior to spam Earthquake without any worries.

When it comes to partners for this core, Scrafty is an obvious choice, providing Fake Out and beating everything barrring Bug-types that threaten Cresselia. Venusaur in a double mega team also works well, as regular Chlorophyll Venusaur is good under sun, and M-Venu helps beat rain. Heatran helps against the Fairy-type matchup, and works well on sun teams due to its Fire-typing. If you still live in January Bisharp works too for patching up some weak points, but frankly Scrafty+a Steel-type is better, although Bisharp provides better Lando-T matchup and uses one slot only.

Sets

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 220 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Protect

Cresselia (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 20 SpA / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Helping Hand
- Trick Room

Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 180 Atk / 28 Def / 132 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect

​

 

[Mymble]

...

...

...

I will update the OP when I finally get onto a computer.

 

[ProjectTitan313]

Rhyperior doesn't really help the other two with much, the core is more about supporting Rhyperior and not Rhyperior supporting others. Also notice that Char Y and Cresselia allow Rhyperior to spam Earthquake without any worries.

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 220 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Fire Blast
- Protect

Cresselia (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 20 SpA / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Helping Hand
- Trick Room

Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 180 Atk / 28 Def / 132 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Protect

Reverse order because I'm weird:
#1 What do the spreads do? That's really the only important part of my post.
#2 AV Rhyperior in Sun is amazing, I ran it in 2014 (though not with Cresselia, obviously). WP + protect is probably better in this case though.
#3 Rhyperior supports both Cress and Char-Y actually. Both of them despise Thundurus, and if you Lightningrod it's even more amazing. The coverage offered by powerful Rock, Ground, and Fire spread STABs is horrifying; this is why Char-Y is almost always seen with Lando-T / Garchomp / Rhyperior (except my weird ass team). As for Cress, it again keeps Thundy off its tits, and with TR support it covers opposing Char-Y, TTar, Aegislash, Bisharp, Weavile, and even Hydreigon if you run Megahorn.

 

[Vengeance417]

Offensive Core:

LO Virizion + Mixed Mega Salamence + Sub Heatran

LO Virizion has become one of my favorite VGC mons simply because of its ability to do so many important things with one moveset, things that MegaMence really appreciates: checks the Competitive/Defiant duo in Milotic and Bisharp, respectively, something that pre-mega Mence really hates coming in on, beats most opposing Heatran variants with Close Combat (minus the rare Chople and Scarf variants), beats any T-Tar variant minus Scarf or DD sets with Ice Punch (you can still live one when at full if not boosted by DD) and can do a lot of damage to Rotom-Wash, perhaps even OHKO it when combined with LO Leaf Blade and whichever move Mence uses on it. Quick Guard provides excellent anti-priority support, whether it's to help its teammates dodge a Sucker Punch from Kanga/Bisharp, a support move from Thundy or Talonflame's Brave Bird. You could also opt for Stone Edge if your Zard Y matchup isn't favorable.

Meanwhile, Mega Mence removes Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur, two Pokes that Virizion absolutely despises.

Aegislash and Ice type moves pose a problem to these two, so Heatran is added to the core to provide a nifty 4x Ice Resistance and an offensive STAB capable of roasting Aegislash. Sub is also nice here because it'll prompt your opponent to double-target the Heatran slot, giving Mence, Virizion and whoever else is on your team more breathing room to cause damage to the opposition.

Mamoswine, especially Scarfed variants, has its way with this core, so possible teammates include bulky waters such as Rotom-W, Suicune or Milotic to form a nice FWG core.

Movesets

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 Atk / 236 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Protect
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor

Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Quick Guard/Stone Edge
- Protect

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect

 

[Mishimono]

Balanced Core

This is one of my favourite Char Y cores to use as you can hit alot of his threats. Char Y provides sun for Mamoswine negating it's water weakness as well as being able to hit most fighting types (barring Stone edge) and grass types that threaten Mamoswine. In return Mamoswine can hit Landorus-T, Thundurus and Zapdos which all threaten Charizard. It also helps with dragons such as Salalmence and Hydreigon as it can OHKO 4 HP Salamence 40% of the time as well as doing over 50% to Hydreigon. Finally Cresselia helps out by providing speed control to help speed up Zard as well as being able to boost Charizard's Heat Wave and Mamoswine's Earthquake to crazy levels with Helping Hand. In return Cresselia can get boosted Moonlight recovery. It's EV spread allows it to live Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off, Modest Choice Specs Hydreiogn Dark Pulse and Life Orb Aegislash Shadow Ball. It also speed creeps 4 Spe Rotom. Also for moves Cresselia don't use Icy Wind, Thunder Wave and Trick Room on the same set as you really don't need more than one option of speed control (Also Ice Beam with Icy Wind). For teamates you could use Aegislash as even with Mamoswine Charizard still appreciates Wide Guard. Well that is all I got if there is anything I missed you can tell me as this is my first time doing one of these.

You could also run a bulkier Charizard if you wanted.

EDIT: Since Level 51 used this core using his Zard spread is a good option

movesets

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave/ Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Protect
- Overheat/Hidden Power Ground

Mamoswine @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash/ Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard/ Superpower
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide/ Superpower

Cresselia @ Sitrus Berry/ Rocky Helmet/ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 4 SpA / 92 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Icy Wind/ Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Moonlight/ Thunder Wave/ Skill Swap
- Helping Hand/ Thunder Wave/ Trick Room

Level 51's Zard
Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 44 SpA / 20 SpD / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Overheat
- Protect

 

[ProjectTitan313]

Offensive Core:

LO Virizion + Mixed Mega Salamence + Sub Heatran

LO Virizion has become one of my favorite VGC mons simply because of its ability to do so many important things with one moveset, things that MegaMence really appreciates: checks the Competitive/Defiant duo in Milotic and Bisharp, respectively, something that pre-mega Mence really hates coming in on, beats most opposing Heatran variants with Close Combat (minus the rare Chople and Scarf variants), beats any T-Tar variant minus Scarf or DD sets with Ice Punch (you can still live one when at full if not boosted by DD) and can do a lot of damage to Rotom-Wash, perhaps even OHKO it when combined with LO Leaf Blade and whichever move Mence uses on it. Quick Guard provides excellent anti-priority support, whether it's to help its teammates dodge a Sucker Punch from Kanga/Bisharp, a support move from Thundy or Talonflame's Brave Bird. You could also opt for Stone Edge if your Zard Y matchup isn't favorable.

Meanwhile, Mega Mence removes Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur, two Pokes that Virizion absolutely despises.

Aegislash and Ice type moves pose a problem to these two, so Heatran is added to the core to provide a nifty 4x Ice Resistance and an offensive STAB capable of roasting Aegislash. Sub is also nice here because it'll prompt your opponent to double-target the Heatran slot, giving Mence, Virizion and whoever else is on your team more breathing room to cause damage to the opposition.

Mamoswine, especially Scarfed variants, has its way with this core, so possible teammates include bulky waters such as Rotom-W, Suicune or Milotic to form a nice FWG core.

Movesets

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 Atk / 236 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Protect
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor

Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Leaf Blade
- Quick Guard/Stone Edge
- Protect

Heatran @ Leftovers
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
- Substitute
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Protect

I'm actually playing around with this right now; but what does the 20 Atk do on Mence?
We need to explain what spreads are for in these posts people, I can't be the only one who wonders about this when reading them ._.

Balanced Core

This is one of my favourite Char Y cores to use as you can hit alot of his threats. Char Y provides sun for Mamoswine negating it's water weakness as well as being able to hit most fighting types (barring Stone edge) and grass types that threaten Mamoswine. In return Mamoswine can hit Landorus-T, Thundurus and Zapdos which all threaten Charizard. It also helps with dragons such as Salalmence and Hydreigon as it can OHKO 4 HP Salamence 40% of the time as well as doing over 50% to Hydreigon. Finally Cresselia helps out by providing speed control to help speed up Zard as well as being able to boost Charizard's Heat Wave and Mamoswine's Earthquake to crazy levels with Helping Hand. In return Cresselia can get boosted Moonlight recovery. For teamates you could use Aegislash as even with Mamoswine Charizard still appreciates Wide Guard. Well that is all I got if there is anything I missed you can tell me as this is my first time doing one of these.

movesets

Charizard-Mega-Y @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave/ Flamethrower
- Solar Beam
- Protect
- Overheat/Hidden Power Ground

Mamoswine @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Icicle Crash/ Icicle Spear
- Ice Shard/ Superpower
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide/ Superpower

Cresselia @ Sitrus Berry/ Rocky Helmet/ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 172 Def / 4 SpA / 92 SpD / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Icy Wind/ Ice Beam
- Psychic
- Moonlight/ Thunder Wave/ Skill Swap
- Helping Hand/ Thunder Wave/ Trick Room

Why did I never think of Scarf Mamo.
God damn it people you're pulling me back into the black hole of Pokemon.

May have a core in the works, not posting until I play enough to determine if it's stupid or not. Heaven forbid I actually contribute to the thread instead of asking 'wat does this do??' all the time.

 

[Demantoid]

I'm actually playing around with this right now; but what does the 20 Atk do on Mence?
We need to explain what spreads are for in these posts people, I can't be the only one who wonders about this when reading them ._.

It gets a guaranteed ohko on fully defensive Amoonguss.

 

[Yugi]

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
Level: 50
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Protect

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 20 SpD / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
- Snarl
- Ice Beam
- Tailwind
- Scald

Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 204 Def / 20 SpA / 36 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave

Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 100 SpD / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- U-turn

Ok sorry for the mix up on the spirtes the genies didnt have shuffle sprites :D

so...

first off we have charizard X.I think that he is an unused threat that can shine in the next format

the moveset is pretty basic and it does alot of stuff,but charizard for an offensive pokemon is too slow.I chose not to run ddance so then it can become a threat and be double targeted which you can see i have no pokemon with redirection in this core.Roost is for longevity mostly.This spread lets it take an Earthquake from Landorus-Therian Forme,Heatran Earth Power, Mega Mawile Play Rough,it has a 50/50 chance to live a kangaskhan adamant double-edge with parental bond,and it takes a hyper voice from mega garde modest pretty good.


Suicune.Suicune was added in for Landorus Therian forme and terrakion.It beats landorus always and it has a spread to take a double edge and fake out from mega kangaskhan adamant and it has ice beam for OHKOing megamence and non-AV landorus-therian,and it has snarl for SpAttackers that threaten the zard X.It also deals with heatran which is a bad matchup for zard X.It also is my main speed control with tailwind and gives me support in scald burns and snarl.


Thundurus.Thundurus was added because of the lack of beating trick room amoonguss.He would just taunt the TRer or amoonguss and then proceed to thunder wave stuff that can beat zard X.He is Evd so hard on defense because my sitrus was taken.Leftovers gave it recovery and HP ice for landorus-t.Basically it was a taunter and a thunder waver.


Landorus.Landorus-t is a pretty good pokemon in this metagame and it has AV for a some reasons:

I lacked a SpDef mon.
I lacked a powerfull rock slide mon.
I lacked something that could threaten kangaskhan out
I lacked a Heatran Killer.
I lacked a switch in to a mence draco(sure i had suicune but double-edge afterwards would hurt alot)

can switch in to 2 dracos from non SpA dropped megamence,can eat up a 100+ ice beam from suicune,can eat up a icy wind from +2 milotic and can eat general HP ices from thundurus.Those that i said that lacked during the time i chose lando-t pretty much sums this pokemon up.

 

[Mishimono]

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
Level: 50
EVs: 100 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Outrage
- Flare Blitz
- Roost
- Protect

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 100 SpA / 20 SpD / 36 Spe
Bold Nature
- Snarl
- Ice Beam
- Tailwind
- Scald

Thundurus @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 204 Def / 20 SpA / 36 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave

Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 116 HP / 196 Atk / 100 SpD / 96 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Superpower
- U-turn

Ok sorry for the mix up on the spirtes the genies didnt have shuffle sprites :D

so...

first off we have charizard X.I think that he is an unused threat that can shine in the next format

the moveset is pretty basic and it does alot of stuff,but charizard for an offensive pokemon is too slow.I chose not to run ddance so then it can become a threat and be double targeted which you can see i have no pokemon with redirection in this core.Roost is for longevity mostly.This spread lets it take an Earthquake from Landorus-Therian Forme,Heatran Earth Power, Mega Mawile Play Rough,it has a 50/50 chance to live a kangaskhan adamant double-edge with parental bond,and it takes a hyper voice from mega garde modest pretty good.


Suicune.Suicune was added in for Landorus Therian forme and terrakion.It beats landorus always and it has a spread to take a double edge and fake out from mega kangaskhan adamant and it has ice beam for OHKOing megamence and non-AV landorus-therian,and it has snarl for SpAttackers that threaten the zard X.It also deals with heatran which is a bad matchup for zard X.It also is my main speed control with tailwind and gives me support in scald burns and snarl.


Thundurus.Thundurus was added because of the lack of beating trick room amoonguss.He would just taunt the TRer or amoonguss and then proceed to thunder wave stuff that can beat zard X.He is Evd so hard on defense because my sitrus was taken.Leftovers gave it recovery and HP ice for landorus-t.Basically it was a taunter and a thunder waver.


Landorus.Landorus-t is a pretty good pokemon in this metagame and it has AV for a some reasons:

I lacked a SpDef mon.
I lacked a powerfull rock slide mon.
I lacked something that could threaten kangaskhan out
I lacked a Heatran Killer.
I lacked a switch in to a mence draco(sure i had suicune but double-edge afterwards would hurt alot)

can switch in to 2 dracos from non SpA dropped megamence,can eat up a 100+ ice beam from suicune,can eat up a icy wind from +2 milotic and can eat general HP ices from thundurus.Those that i said that lacked during the time i chose lando-t pretty much sums this pokemon up.

why outrage over Dragon Claw on Charizard. Outrage is unreliable as it hits random targets.

 

[Yugi]

because it gets some kills that DC doesnt

 

[Vengeance417]

because it gets some kills that DC doesnt

I'd much rather hit my intended target with DC and not have it kill than Outrage accidentally target a Steel or a Fairy type, but that's just me.

I'm actually playing around with this right now; but what does the 20 Atk do on Mence?
We need to explain what spreads are for in these posts people, I can't be the only one who wonders about this when reading them ._.

As what Demantoid said, it's to guarantee the OHKO on 252/252 Relaxed Amoonguss with Double Edge. It's literally the same standard set that's on the Smogon Dex.