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Tauros
[Overview]
<p>Known as the king of RBY, Tauros has forever cemented his reputation in competitive Pokemon. Unfortunately—or not, depending on how you look at it—four generations have gone by, and he has fallen into the depths of NU. However, this does not mean that Tauros has lost his value, as the lower tiers are excellent playgrounds for him to show off his amazing offensive capabilities. Despite not being very versatile, Tauros manages to strike fear into those who oppose him. This is largely thanks to his great Speed, power, coverage, and the difficulty that one usually has wearing him down thanks to Sheer Force canceling out Life Orb recoil. This is not always the case though; despite these qualities, Tauros sometimes finds himself hard-walled, and when this happens, he usually becomes dead weight on your team. Nevertheless, the king of RBY should not be underestimated by any means, as doing so could easily cost you some games.</p>
[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Rock Climb
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Fire Blast / Zen Headbutt
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Naive / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Tauros's bread-and-butter set; it takes full advantage of all of his qualities and can do some major damage to any team, given the right circumstances. Rock Climb is Tauros's STAB move of choice here, as it hits harder than any other move it could use and nullifies Life Orb recoil, both courtesy of Sheer Force. Earthquake gets super effective coverage on the various Rock- and Steel-types, such as Aggron and Rhydon, that resist his STAB move. Rock Slide lands a super effective hit on Flying-types, primarily Aerodactyl and Archeops, in addition to taking advantage of Sheer Force, which makes it only slightly weaker but much more accurate than Stone Edge. Despite Tauros's pitiful Special Attack stat, Fire Blast is the primary choice in the fourth moveslot; with the help of Sheer Force, it actually lands a 2HKO on both Tangrowth and Ferroseed, two Pokemon who would otherwise have little trouble walling this set. However, should you pair Tauros with a Pokemon who can take care of those two, Zen Headbutt makes for an acceptable replacement, as it is Tauros's strongest move against Ghost-types, such as Dusknoir.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EVs maximize Tauros's offensive capabilities, outpacing even the speedy Galvantula. A Naive nature is picked in order to secure 2HKOs on Tangrowth and Ferroseed with Fire Blast, but if you opt for Zen Headbutt instead, you should use Jolly.</p>
<p>If moves with shaky accuracy are not your thing, you might want to choose between Tauros's other STAB moves. Double-Edge and Return can both fill this role; while they fail to take advantage of Sheer Force, the former hits incredibly hard but will cause Tauros to faint rather quickly, and the latter is a consistent and reliable source of damage. If you choose to go this route, you might also want to consider foregoing the use of Sheer Force entirely in favor of Intimidate, which will open up a few more switch-in opportunities for Tauros. However, this will come at the cost of a lot of the power Sheer Force provides, so if you don't mind relying heavily on prediction, you can use a Choice Band to make up for it; this will also eliminate the potential for Life Orb recoil. It goes without saying that if you choose to go this route, you will also need to use Stone Edge over Rock Slide to make up for the loss in power.</p>
<p>Like every other offensive Pokemon, Tauros becomes all the more fantastic with Spikes support. Thus, Qwilfish makes an excellent partner; in addition to laying down Spikes, it can easily tank the Fighting-type attacks that threaten Tauros. Fire-types such as Moltres make for good offensive partners as they can turn many of Tauros's checks into liabilities—defensive Cofagrigus, Ferroseed, Steelix, and Tangrowth are just a few.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Tauros's most notable alternative moveslot option comes in the form of Work Up. This move lets him boost his Attack and, therefore, be able to sometimes get past certain bulky Pokemon such as Tangrowth, but frankly, Tauros is better off using his Speed, power, and coverage to just attack right off the bat. Bulldoze can be used over Earthquake to take advantage of Sheer Force's canceling Life Orb recoil, but the drop in power is usually not worth it. Wild Charge can be used over Rock Slide, as it maintains coverage on Flying-types while hitting Slowking and Alomomola harder than anything else Tauros can use. This fails to take advantage of Sheer Force and comes with added recoil though. Finally, Tauros can make use of Pursuit to trap unsuspecting Rotom, especially if they are Choice-locked into Shadow Ball.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>If there's one thing you need to be wary of when playing against Tauros, it is that, unlike other fast sweepers, Tauros cannot be worn down through residual damage alone. Therefore, your best option is to try to simply wall him by using a Pokemon with the sheer physical bulk to do so. Bulky Ghost-types, such as Spiritomb, Dusknoir, and Cofagrigus, all possess this quality, have an immunity to Tauros's STAB, and can cripple him with Will-O-Wisp; the latter even has Mummy to nullify Sheer Force. Tangrowth and Ferroseed need to be wary of Fire Blast, but are otherwise safe bets. Steelix and Rhydon won't enjoy repeated Earthquakes, but can take him on easily otherwise.</p>
<p>Another option to counter Tauros is to prey on him with even faster Pokemon. Sceptile, Aerodactyl, and common Choice Scarf users such as Manectric all outspeed and deal heavy damage to Tauros with their respective STAB moves. Strong priority attacks work in the same way; Hitmonchan's Mach Punch is especially notable. Toxic Spikes also deserve a mention here, as this is the one form of residual damage that can actually build up quickly on Tauros.</p>
Tauros
[Overview]
<p>Known as the king of RBY, Tauros has forever cemented his reputation in competitive Pokemon. Unfortunately—or not, depending on how you look at it—four generations have gone by, and he has fallen into the depths of NU. However, this does not mean that Tauros has lost his value, as the lower tiers are excellent playgrounds for him to show off his amazing offensive capabilities. Despite not being very versatile, Tauros manages to strike fear into those who oppose him. This is largely thanks to his great Speed, power, coverage, and the difficulty that one usually has wearing him down thanks to Sheer Force canceling out Life Orb recoil. This is not always the case though; despite these qualities, Tauros sometimes finds himself hard-walled, and when this happens, he usually becomes dead weight on your team. Nevertheless, the king of RBY should not be underestimated by any means, as doing so could easily cost you some games.</p>
[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Rock Climb
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Rock Slide
move 4: Fire Blast / Zen Headbutt
item: Life Orb
ability: Sheer Force
nature: Naive / Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is Tauros's bread-and-butter set; it takes full advantage of all of his qualities and can do some major damage to any team, given the right circumstances. Rock Climb is Tauros's STAB move of choice here, as it hits harder than any other move it could use and nullifies Life Orb recoil, both courtesy of Sheer Force. Earthquake gets super effective coverage on the various Rock- and Steel-types, such as Aggron and Rhydon, that resist his STAB move. Rock Slide lands a super effective hit on Flying-types, primarily Aerodactyl and Archeops, in addition to taking advantage of Sheer Force, which makes it only slightly weaker but much more accurate than Stone Edge. Despite Tauros's pitiful Special Attack stat, Fire Blast is the primary choice in the fourth moveslot; with the help of Sheer Force, it actually lands a 2HKO on both Tangrowth and Ferroseed, two Pokemon who would otherwise have little trouble walling this set. However, should you pair Tauros with a Pokemon who can take care of those two, Zen Headbutt makes for an acceptable replacement, as it is Tauros's strongest move against Ghost-types, such as Dusknoir.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The given EVs maximize Tauros's offensive capabilities, outpacing even the speedy Galvantula. A Naive nature is picked in order to secure 2HKOs on Tangrowth and Ferroseed with Fire Blast, but if you opt for Zen Headbutt instead, you should use Jolly.</p>
<p>If moves with shaky accuracy are not your thing, you might want to choose between Tauros's other STAB moves. Double-Edge and Return can both fill this role; while they fail to take advantage of Sheer Force, the former hits incredibly hard but will cause Tauros to faint rather quickly, and the latter is a consistent and reliable source of damage. If you choose to go this route, you might also want to consider foregoing the use of Sheer Force entirely in favor of Intimidate, which will open up a few more switch-in opportunities for Tauros. However, this will come at the cost of a lot of the power Sheer Force provides, so if you don't mind relying heavily on prediction, you can use a Choice Band to make up for it; this will also eliminate the potential for Life Orb recoil. It goes without saying that if you choose to go this route, you will also need to use Stone Edge over Rock Slide to make up for the loss in power.</p>
<p>Like every other offensive Pokemon, Tauros becomes all the more fantastic with Spikes support. Thus, Qwilfish makes an excellent partner; in addition to laying down Spikes, it can easily tank the Fighting-type attacks that threaten Tauros. Fire-types such as Moltres make for good offensive partners as they can turn many of Tauros's checks into liabilities—defensive Cofagrigus, Ferroseed, Steelix, and Tangrowth are just a few.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Tauros's most notable alternative moveslot option comes in the form of Work Up. This move lets him boost his Attack and, therefore, be able to sometimes get past certain bulky Pokemon such as Tangrowth, but frankly, Tauros is better off using his Speed, power, and coverage to just attack right off the bat. Bulldoze can be used over Earthquake to take advantage of Sheer Force's canceling Life Orb recoil, but the drop in power is usually not worth it. Wild Charge can be used over Rock Slide, as it maintains coverage on Flying-types while hitting Slowking and Alomomola harder than anything else Tauros can use. This fails to take advantage of Sheer Force and comes with added recoil though. Finally, Tauros can make use of Pursuit to trap unsuspecting Rotom, especially if they are Choice-locked into Shadow Ball.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>If there's one thing you need to be wary of when playing against Tauros, it is that, unlike other fast sweepers, Tauros cannot be worn down through residual damage alone. Therefore, your best option is to try to simply wall him by using a Pokemon with the sheer physical bulk to do so. Bulky Ghost-types, such as Spiritomb, Dusknoir, and Cofagrigus, all possess this quality, have an immunity to Tauros's STAB, and can cripple him with Will-O-Wisp; the latter even has Mummy to nullify Sheer Force. Tangrowth and Ferroseed need to be wary of Fire Blast, but are otherwise safe bets. Steelix and Rhydon won't enjoy repeated Earthquakes, but can take him on easily otherwise.</p>
<p>Another option to counter Tauros is to prey on him with even faster Pokemon. Sceptile, Aerodactyl, and common Choice Scarf users such as Manectric all outspeed and deal heavy damage to Tauros with their respective STAB moves. Strong priority attacks work in the same way; Hitmonchan's Mach Punch is especially notable. Toxic Spikes also deserve a mention here, as this is the one form of residual damage that can actually build up quickly on Tauros.</p>
