SM Good Cores

[Zeffy]

Good Cores: Sun & Moon Version​

Information

The success of teambuilding often depends on a strong and dependable set of Pokémon, often called a core. These cores are typically made up of a group of Pokémon that works well together in order to accomplish a specific goal. Cores serve as a great starting point for teambuilding and is commonly the baseline of the type of team you will create. This thread will serve as a community resource, where everyone can share the cores that they have tried and tested. Welcome to Good Cores: Sun & Moon Version!​

Posting Guidelines

• As previously mentioned, this will be a community resource where everyone is encouraged to share their core ideas. Anyone is allowed to post a core, but make sure to follow a readable format.
• Include the following information in your post: tier/format (SM Ubers, SM Doubles, VGC 2017, etc), core type (offensive, defensive, balanced, weather, etc.), the actual sets for the Pokémon included in your core, and a reasonable explanation of how the core works. No matter how obvious your core works, keep in mind that we're aiming for something that anyone, regardless of skill level, can use.
• The explanation of your core should be concise and extensive, but easy to understand. It especially helps new battlers if you are straight to the point. Explain why the core works, what the core is weak against, and you can even provide sample Pokémon that works well with the core. How you explain your core is up to you, but a good explanation will likely help more people.
• You can provide replay samples of the cores in use, but they are not required.

Core Archive

You can find the various cores submitted by users in this section. If you're looking for a specific Pokémon, simply use Ctrl + F to find them. This archive will be mainly maintained by me, but help will be very much appreciated! Keep in mind that if your post is not readable or your core is not effective, I might not include it.

Offensive Cores

Spoiler:

SM Ubers
Primal Groudon + Arceus-Ice

SM OU
Pheromosa + Tapu Lele

Defensive & Balanced Cores

Spoiler:

SM OU
Ferrothorn + Toxapex + Excadrill

Other Cores (weather, gravity, etc.)

Spoiler:

Nothing here yet!

Finally, if you have any questions, feel free to post them here and I'll be happy to answer.​

 

[Zeffy]

I'll start this off with a standard offensive core in OU: Pheromosa and Tapu Lele.

Spoiler: core

Pheromosa @ Life Orb / Expert Belt / Choice Band
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- High Jump Kick
- U-turn
- Poison Jab
- Ice Beam

Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Shadow Ball
- Moonblast

Tapu Lele's ability to bring Psychic Terrain upon switching in immensely helps Pheromosa threaten majority, if not all, of the offensive teams out there. Thanks to Psychic Terrain, this core complements offensive teams that are in need of reliable revenge killers and late game sweepers due to Pheromosa's ability to safely revenge kill threats it would usually have trouble with (particularly those who use priority moves like Mega Scizor and Mega Metagross). It's actually pretty easy to slap these two Pokemon into a team if you're initially looking to start playing SM OU, which says a lot about how effective this core is.

 

[Nah]

I uh hope this is actually good anyway....

SM OU
Defensive Core

Spoiler: sets

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 248 HP / 88 Def / 172 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball

Toxapex @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 184 Def / 76 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Recover
- Haze
- Toxic Spikes / possibly other move

Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 224 HP / 252 SpD / 32 Spe
Careful Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Toxic

It's basically a defensive core that both lets you set up and remove hazards (though Toxic Spikes is not explicitly necessary when running Toxic on Mold Breaker Excadrill), and is not overly passive. Ferrothorn and Toxapex are standard bulky Pokemon that together wall a significant portion of OU, covering each other's weaknesses fairly well. Excadrill fills in a few key holes that the other two can't, as it checks Magnezone, non-Specs Tapu Lele sets, Alolan Marowak (Stealth Rock damage required for this one) and allows you to do something against Mega Sableye.

Something to watch out for is basically anything with a powerful Earthquake, as Excadrill and Toxapex are weak to Ground, and Ferrothorn will not be able to tank those forever, nevermind that boosting Pokemon with Earthquake will tear through it. Fortunately, you can try to fit in stuff with a Ground immunity and/or Will-o-Wisp to attempt to patch that up. Fast Pokemon are appreciated as well, given how slow the core is.