How to Teambuild in Pokemon - Part 3: Why you should be using CORES | Competitive Pokemon EXPLAINED

I used BKC and his content as an example of high level teambuilding that still takes advantage of cores to a basic extent - be sure to go check out his channel if you haven't already: / @bkcplayspokemon .
Offensive and defensive cores are, in my opinion, one of the best tools a beginner can have when learning how to build competitive teams in pokemon. With that said, the arguable focus on this whole miniseries of mine is a process of teambuilding that revolves around cores, as it makes for a much easier launching point than just starting with a blank slate.
Now that we've covered the main three lessons I wanted to cover, the next installment will be putting this all together into a live building video + a laddering series with the new team. However before that we have some player interviews on the way - stay tuned!
Come join my discord! :
/ discord
I'm also on twitch at twitch.tv/nathanlikeschicken1, and twitter at NathanLikesYT.
Music used:
Various Brock Berrigan music from his amazing Point Pleasant album.
Thumbnail art:
/ forksthousands
Outro music:
Future Girlfriend 音楽 - Benson cut 今夜
#PokemonSwordShield #Pokemon #PokemonShowdown #CompetitivePokemon #PokemonExplained

[@jonathonpassey3902]

I’m a VGC player and have been stuck at 1300-1400 on ladder. I really enjoy teambuilding but haven’t gotten better at it. I searched across KZbin and looked at all these examples even the 2016 world champion Wolfe Glick and Aaron Zheng, but you explained it best even though they are completely different formats. You don’t just explain how to teambuild for singles or just 1 generation you explain how teambuilding should be done in general. This was an extremely helpful series and definitely earned a sub from me.

[@ashikaltit2384]

Why the hell are you so underrated man you need more attention

[@informythicalscience7837]

He should at least have the golden play button for this content

[@nothingham]

I'm always too focused on breaking that god forsaken balance core that i forget about creating a good core myself - this was a well needed wake up call. I really like how this series (and most of your videos) are really in-depth yet easy to understand. 5:20 leafage decidueye new meta reminds me of the time i accidentally ran hyper beam sylveon

[@nomongosinthaworld]

isn't specs hyper beam sylveon pretty legit? lol

[@r3io4mf]

@Nish The Great weak leaf attack

[@kirbyjet816]

Probably meant to add Leaf Blade but misclicked

[@johngold42]

@@r3io4mf to be more specific it is a 40 base power special Grass type attack which Rowlet gets at level five why do I know this off the top my head

[@858miles]

This video series was truly a life saver and even a couple years later, is still very viable. Thanks for the awesome content and resources man!

[@Jack-id5gm]

very nice to give more exposure to new comers. i am not new but i can definitely see how useful this can be to newer people, great series and i would love to see more of these type of series videos.

[@Qiel]

I just started watching your videos and I can see how much you enjoy Pokemon and making these videos. Your enthusiasm really shows through and I'm loving it so far.

[@GrandRobo]

Thanks for all the guides! I have big anxiety trying out competitive online battles since X/Y and never had the courage to jump into it since then. Your guides are slowly helping me test the waters again :)

[@Xzqwerty2324zX]

learning a lot from this series, everything was put together really well!

[@AsdfFdsa-gp5qg]

Going into a Draft League style tournament for pokemon and I know how to play given a team but have always been lost on the team building process. This series is literally my lifeline. Still incredibly useful in 2022; thanks for making man.

[@omegacrazii7986]

I love how enthusiastic, and happy he is making these videos. Matter of fact these videos itself are very helpful. I now will subscribe happily

[@ragpyldz1624]

This was really helpful. Thank you nathan.

[@c00lbandit1]

You know, I don't normally hit that bell button, but your content has been so consistent and so good that I just had to. Thank you for making it.

[@NathanLikesChicken]

So kind! Appreciate it 😁

[@Murada-]

Great video as always!!

[@GGxQuinn]

amazing video, i dont play anymore, but i used to be so obsessed with pokemon team building, and this guide is so well done, you are easily the best in the game when it comes to explaining team building, you have a talent my friend, i wish you luck! liked subbed-

[@alexminnich7048]

Dude I have so much trouble with team building and you explain it so well. Thank you.

[@justinjumariburner]

Bro your amazing at explaining this stuff. I’ve watched like 10 guides and they just didn’t put it together like you did you got a sub from me bro.

[@Joshua-bn2pn]

You did a great job explaining how to make a team I think I just need more competitive knowledge to know what Pokémon counter others so I’m gonna watch some matches in the format I wanna play in and then rewatch this series

[@dejandejandejan2669]

Yo keep up the good work you have very high quality and very informative videos keep it up sir

[@jozumakii]

i've always been one of those people who just picks pokemon they like, stacks them with mono-type attacking movesets and hopes for the best (my brother was appalled when he saw my sword team LMAO), but i'm getting scarlet for xmas and i finally decided i want to start learning how to play the game 😂 this series has been a total godsend to a newcomer like me, and i've diligently sat and taken notes so i'll be able to come back and build myself a good (but still adorable) scarlet team! really excited to put it all into practice, and although i'm late to the party, thanks for being so beginner-friendly :D

[@gwendolynknowles7784]

I've been dabbling in team building for a long time, and this is a great way to think of it! Thank you for your knowledge :)

[@MathewDrafts]

That T-shirt is cleeeaaaaan 😂 Good video as always though, I tend to build my teams around an offensive core. But I think this video showed perfectly why the defensive core of Clef, Corv and Toad is so omnipresent in the meta right now. Even if Dracovish were to be banned I’m not sure it will stop that core from being so good like people assume

[@MathewDrafts]

musique 123 with recovery arguably it walls Vish better too, difference is Toad has rocks which is why I think it’s much more common and that factor won’t change too much :)

[@MathewDrafts]

musique 123 ahhh fair! You may be right. I think Quag has always been more popular on stall, so maybe we could see that rise in usage too :)

[@brayloncroom7807]

amazing video man!

[@JtheLionheart]

Great video, thanks, man.

[@LaurieDawg]

Out of all the videos I watch this one actually help me thx

[@balfazar3673]

This series has been helpful, thanks heaps. ^_^

[@rey.mp4243]

Awesome video bro, gonna have to go back and watch the other two parts now lmao

[@TsquaredAM]

Watched this for SWSH team building. Helped out a ton. Back for a refresher for SV! Need a review 😂

[@MrDecidueye]

You saved my decidueye heart, for using him as an example❤

[@SharpLCDTV]

Great video! You need more views bro

[@davidbodil]

great work it helped me so much

[@QuePeperoni]

Thanks for this great video

[@ibrahimshaglil1141]

I really really like your videos

[@moonbyum3448]

Amazing video on team building! It helped me a lot Quick Question: Will you get around to Team Previews in the future?

[@NathanLikesChicken]

I made a video on lead matchups actually - go check out my competitive pokemon explained playlist!

[@okgranted]

this is amazing :)

[@oranjolt]

This is amazing info :0

[@alexisbaz8746]

Years ago I played a lot of OU in the ORAZ meta, I had a team centered around M-Gallade that made me proud but once Sol/Moon meta arrived I was never able to adapt. Now I'm trying a team with Sceptile, he doesn't have his Mega anymore but he is one of my favorites, I always end in the Team building witouth knowing what to do xd

[@indescribabl2183]

Good video

[@tylerbomba577]

Excellent guide! I was wondering if you'd be able to answer a question I have about a draft I'll be doing in a few days?

[@NathanLikesChicken]

I don't have much experience in drafts but I can do my best. If you join my discord in the description actually we have a few members in there much more experienced in that than myself

[@tylerbomba577]

@@NathanLikesChicken joined! thank you!

[@kalsmith8507]

I have always used a ground fighting core with game play thoughts wanting to go competitive would this still be as good as a fire water grass core? I am really appreciating this series

[@warmmilk9480]

I'm still learning, but my favorite format is Gen 8 LC because my favorite pokemon is Goldeen. Good luck using Goldeen outside of that (although it's not like Seaking is much better anyway lmao). So yeah I kind of build around my Goldeen and I've been finding... it's not as bad as people think. It has lightning rod, so anyone who tries using an electric move on it is gonna regret that. And I COULD run choice band. It's not too bad. But I like to run the unorthodox rindo berry, allowing it to surprisingly check grass types (the only other weakness it has) by halving the damage from one of their attacks. Then oneshot them with megahorn, because Goldeen runs that anyway, it's the hardest hitting move it has. The poor guy who brought out a Budew against my Goldeen when we were down to our last pokemon... may he rest in peace.

[@TheShahed97]

quarantine has had me complete every single pokemon game up to usum. and ive looked into hacks and loving completing those!. now i know for a fact donphan is my all time favourite pokemon, along with clawitzer and probably noivern. so these videos are amazing. i know its a stretch but what could go well with them? off the bat i was think scizor but then that means i may not have room for venusaur, both id like as mega's. its a very lucrative process but even still its so fun. my plan is to play very very casually but its turned into my life mission to mold the one comp team i can stand by! p.s. these vids are so fun man!!!

[@dianauwu1312]

Hey, if you're talking about Sword/Shield you should look into UU. Noivern and Scizor are both commomly used pokemon in that tier and running Donphan isn't going to hurt the team too much, especially if you find a creative use for it. Edit: No reason you couldn't use Clawitzer as well.

[@grapeleopard6809]

@@dianauwu1312 whoop whoop comrade 🏳️‍⚧️

[@screechingtoad2683]

One core i started using recently is Assault vest Heatran + defog Corviknight + dual screens Arbovilla. Very good defensive core (In my opinion) You can also substitute arbovila for quagsire or gastradon

[@shepherd_1057]

Just wondering, is the formula the same for doubles?

[@dalvim1]

I’m trying make up a team with swampert and volcarona, I hope I can make one

[@plasma2125]

Most hyper offense don't need a defensive core at all. All you need is some switches out of your choiced mon.

[@ldluffy2064]

Why do you run iron head on corviknight instead of something like u turn?

[@CarlMinx]

Thanks

[@heartsy2838]

I know it's literally 1 year away from the uploading of this video but with your help I managed to make a somewhat decent core! it uses roserade and garchomp(offensive core) here's how it works so I wanted to make a core with roserade because it's my favorite pokemon so I started with a look on the strategydex after a little looking around I found that garchomp would be a great partner for Rosie(I named it that) Garchomp is a great physical attacker but it never really stands a chance against physical fairy walls like tapu fini and roserade can easily defeat fairies with its high sp atk,decent speed and access to sludge bomb a great poison move plus in case of tapu fini it even has grass STAB for it but it doesn't fair well with special walls but guess what garchomps attack can defeat those pesky special walls!

[@NathanLikesChicken]

Great job!! So glad I could help

[@heartsy2838]

@@NathanLikesChicken thank you! and welcome :D

[@pratikkalotra88]

you give new life and hope to a noob have a subscribe :)

[@luciferhasfallen7940]

i have trouble with stats and type harmony

[@CapitanCorner]

Fly Eagles Fly 🦅💚

[@MisterSleep1123]

ClefKnight is just a modern SkarmBliss. Change my mind

[@imp4209]

I use skarmory blissey alomomola as my unbreakable national dex stall core

[@webeburnin333]

Omg.. OU stands for Over Used?? I’ve been wondering for ages what the terminology for tiers stands for, could you please make a video explaining tiers? Such as OU, PO, OO, meta etc etc I dunno there seems loads I still don’t get it all and all resources already assume you know.

[@ChariGirl13]

Hey I want to use a Charizard in Gen 8 OU but I don't know what core I should put. What do you think is a good core?

[@NathanLikesChicken]

Charizard struggles against teams with strong special walls, defensive water type pokemon, and teams that use stealth rocks. Maybe combine it with one pokemon that can use defog, and one pokemon that can beat special and water-type walls

[@ChariGirl13]

Got it! I can add a Corviknight with Defog and a Kartana a great counter to mostly special walls and a great water counter too! Thanks!

[@zakattack.]

What was the website u where using

[@NathanLikesChicken]

Pokemon showdown!

[@glacier3835]

does anyone have a good core for pallosand?

[@glacier3835]

@トーン anything goes

[@alexanderkurceba8662]

Most examples of Pokemon that you show have leftovers but if you wanted to play ranked battles you can't have two of the same item what would be a good replacement

[@NathanLikesChicken]

Look up the pokemon on the pikalytics website, they usually have detailed set info

[@jns0808]

@@NathanLikesChicken I'm 10 months late, but Smogon University is a great resource too like he shows in the video!

[@dreamdog3499]

how do you figure out what pokemon are paired well together? that's what confuses me about this, I just started competitive pokemon and don't really know how to teambuild

[@stivaoblonskystan]

Well its simply finding another mon that covers your first mons weaknesses. Pick a pokemon, think of what its weak to, and then find a solution to that. For example we can start with Tapu Lele, which has super powerful fairy and psychic stabs. But both of its main attacking types are resisted by steel, forcing it to switch out if its specs and/or run the unreliable focus blast. A good offensive partner for lele then would be magnezone as it can switch in on those annoying steel types (especially Corviknight) and trap and kill them. A defensive example is toxapex, which pairs very well with zapdos as the latter can cover the former's weaknesses to ground and electric moves. Edit: Forgot to mention that the second partner should also benefit from the first mon's help as well. Tapu lele is able to take out fighting types that magnzeone struggles with, and Toxapex can soak up any strong ice type moves that might threaten its partner Zapdos.

[@dreamdog3499]

@@stivaoblonskystan woah, thanks! I was always confused how you could figure out what went well together but this makes alot of sense!

[@greninzo7676]

The next episode is 45min lemme eat real quick lol

[@RafaelElectronic]

this makes showdown so much less scary

[@ryusuikarate]

I'm a completely new player. This is all very interesting but I have no idea what leads you to your conclusions about what Pokemon is a threat and which other Pokemon can beat it. This is probably a very good guide for people already intimately familiar with the series but to me thus unfortunately doesn't say anything other than: Look at some online lists, maybe? I do appreciate the effort though and would like to know more but dumbed down a bit. For example: You have a flying/steel type. These are the threats ABC because DEF and these are examples of how to counter them GHI...

[@NathanLikesChicken]

Appreciate you explaining your perspective! I actually have made a video about learning matchups (aka which pokemon beat which) if you're curious to learn how I tackle it. But it essentially boils down to experience. As a beginner, that probably means you're going to be limited to the type chart. For example, if you're building a team with a swampert, you'll understand that it beats fire/rock types, but loses to grass. As you play more, and learn the hard way that maybe it doesn't beat all rock types (like a grass knot nihiligo comes to mind), you'll get a more nuanced understanding of swampert's strengths and weaknesses, and be able to give it a better teammate. Sadly there's no substitute for learning the metagame and the hundreds of pokemon that occupy it first hand. The smogon strategy pokedex is also a great place to learn too. Looking at pokemon entries will often give a brief breakdown of what types of pokemon they struggle against. But generally that's why this series is more intended as teaching a man to fish, rather than just giving you a team/formula that can become outdated quickly. Hope that helps!

[@ryusuikarate]

@@NathanLikesChicken Thank you for explaining. I will look at that Pokedex. I'm really a complete beginner (I didn't even know half the Pokemon you mentioned) so I've got a long way to go.

[@connorcadaver1219]

How about I ignore this entire video and use 6 zacians

[@dylan_9922]

The first question is… why are you so hot?