[OVERVIEW]
While not gaining too many useful options, Chansey still finds a place in STABmons due to its incredible special bulk, allowing it to stop Starmie, the number one Pokemon in the metagame. It has the incredible option of Thunder Wave, which is much more consistent than the Glare that many Normal-types have to use to spread paralysis. This allows Chansey to be an effective paralysis spreader, since physical attackers cannot OHKO a healthy Chansey without knocking themselves out with Explosion. It also gained access to two new amazing tools: Super Fang to consistently knock Pokemon down to half of their health, and an upgrade to its normal recovery move: Recover.
While it is incredibly hard to break Chansey on the special side, Chansey struggles to take attacks from the common Normal-type physical attackers due to its very low Defense stat. This also leads it to be incredibly weak to Explosion, one of the most common moves in the tier. Chansey gets OHKOed by STAB Explosions, and non STAB Explosions still do a very significant amount of damage, making it easy to revenge kill. This gives special attackers that Chansey would otherwise safely wall like Gengar and Exeggutor an option to remove Chansey from the battle. Unlike other Normal-types, Chansey cannot make use of the normally powerful options of Slash and Explosion, leading to its below average damage output. This is a major problem in a metagame as fast as STABmons.
[SET]
name: Special Wall
move 1: Seismic Toss
move 2: Thunderbolt / Super Fang
move 3: Recover
move 4: Thunder Wave
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Seismic Toss is Chansey's most consistent damaging move, allowing it to chip down targets like Gengar and Exeggutor. If the target is paralyzed, it can even threaten Recover users like Starmie. Thunderbolt allows Chansey to come in and hit Water-types like Starmie, Vaporeon, and Cloyster hard, forcing them to either switch-out or use Explosion to trade. This is especially useful into Starmie, as once it is paralyzed it cannot reliably survive multiple Thunderbolts with Recover. Alternatively, Super Fang can be a useful tool to chunk the normal switch-ins to Chansey like Tauros, Snorlax, and Clefable harder than Seismic Toss can. When paired with Thunder Wave, Super Fang can make it incredibly easy for Chansey's team to come in and revenge kill Pokemon with Recover, which can otherwise be a massive hassle to deal with without sacrificing another Pokemon to use Explosion. Thunder Wave allows Chansey to spread paralysis, notably making it harder for Pokemon like Tauros and Starmie to sweep late game. Thunder Wave also makes it significantly riskier for Recover users to spam the move, due to the risk of a full paralysis. Recover gives Chansey incredible longevity, allowing it to outlast the special attackers it wants to wall. Recover is the preferred healing option over Softboiled due to it having double the amount of PP.
Chansey's goal is to come in on threatening special attackers like Starmie and Exeggutor and spread paralysis. The main reason to use Chansey is to wall Starmie, since it cannot threaten Chansey too much outside of Thunder Wave, and Chansey threatens Starmie both with significant damage from Thunderbolt or Super Fang, and with Thunder Wave to cripple it late game. Starmie is generally forced out, allowing Chansey to spread more paralysis on the switch-in. Chansey can also be useful to come in on other special attackers, even if they have Explosion. Exeggutor is the most noteworthy example, though Chansey can really only safely check it after sleep clause is active. Other special attackers like Gengar, Jolteon, and Vaporeon can also be great opportunities to get Chansey in. None of these Pokemon love taking a Thunder Wave, and will ultimately lose the 1v1 interaction, so they are forced to either switch out or use Explosion. While having your Chansey take an Explosion like this might seem bad, it can sometimes be incredibly useful to remove these Pokemon for partners like Tauros and Starmie. Forcing Exeggutor to use Explosion is especially useful, since Chansey allows your own Exeggutor to stay healthy for the mid and late game. However, Chansey switching into these Pokemon will often lead it to getting paralyzed itself, since most of these Pokemon carry Thunder Wave or Glare. This hinders Chansey's ability to deal with physical attackers, meaning Chansey is usually forced to switch out against them. Something to keep in mind however, is that Chansey should really only take an Explosion after Starmie stops being a major concern.
Chansey really appreciates sleep leads, especially Gengar, since they can potentially put a special attacker that can threaten Chansey, like Jolteon and Alakazam to sleep. allowing Chansey to deal with them safely. Gengar can also potentially switch into Slashes and Explosions aimed at Chansey, and Gengar can freely use Explosion to dent or KO problematic Pokemon. Physically bulky Normal-types like Tauros and Kangaskhan also work incredibly well alongside Chansey. They can switch in and check opposing Normal-type attackers, and Chansey can switch-in and either wall or force an Explosion against the special attackers like Starmie and Gengar that threaten them. Chansey can also potentially get a crucial Thunder Wave off on an opposing Tauros or Kangaskhan, allowing your own Tauros or Kangaskhan to have a much easier time in the mirror, however if Chansey is damaged or paralyzed, it cannot reliably do so, so having more reliable checks to these Pokemon is important. Starmie and Exeggutor also love Chansey's support, since they are often tasked to deal with opposing Starmie and Exeggutor. Without them having to deal with the mirror matchup, they can stay healthy and pose a massive threat.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ice Beam can be used alongside Thunderbolt to do much more significant damage to Exeggutor and Zapdos. However, this is generally not run since it allows other Special attackers like Alakazam and Jynx to come in much more freely and force Chansey out. Counter can be used by a healthy Chansey to take a Slash and surprise KO Pokemon like Tauros and Kangaskhan. It can also be used after an Explosion to get a suprise KO on an opponent switching out their Starmie or Exeggutor, two very common Pokemon to bring in after an Explosion, but the opportunity cost of dropping any of Chansey's moves makes it a rare choice. Similarly, Sing can be used to fish for sleep against Pokemon like Starmie who cannot directly threaten Chansey too much, either as they attack or as they switch out, but it can be very unreliable and hard to fit. Transform is another option that looks good on paper due to Chansey's massive HP stat, but quirks specific to RBY hold it back. If Chansey transforms into a Pokemon and gets a critical hit, the damage is calculated based on Chansey's stats. Similarly, if Chansey gets hit with a critical hit, the damage it takes is based off of its own stats. This leads Chansey to not be able to wield the tools of Pokemon like Tauros or Kangaskhan well, since its Slash does very little damage and opposing Slashes 2HKO it. Transform also does not copy the target's critical hit rate, leading to Chansey doing less damage on average than its target. Another problem is that Transform copies the Speed drop from paralysis and the Attack drop from burn, even if Chansey itself is not statused. This can lead to awkward situations where Chansey gets paralyzed after it transforms, and instead of getting speedties with a paralysed target, it would be always slower.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Normal-types**: Due to Chansey's low Defense, Normal-types like Tauros, Kangaskhan, Clefable, and Dodrio can all threaten Chansey with Slash, with Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Dodrio reliably 2HKOing Chansey and Clefable having a favorable 53.8% chance to do so. While none of these Pokemon like switching in on a Thunder Wave, they are great at forcing Chansey out, and they are usually able to find an opportunity later on to use Recover. Chansey can also potentially tank a Slash if it is healthy and get a crucial Thunder Wave off, which can be a very unfavorable trade for Pokemon like Tauros.
**Explosion**: Normal-types can reliably OHKO Chansey with Explosion, which makes it extremely unsafe for Chansey to try to stay in on them. Also many Special attackers like Exeggutor, Gengar, Vaporeon, and Jolteon can threaten Chansey with Explosion, making it impossible for Chansey to deal with them and other threats. While sometimes Chansey doesn't mind taking the Explosion to keep its partners healthy, if it takes an unnecessary Explosion, it can lead to its team being significantly weaker to a late game Starmie or Exeggutor.
**Alakazam**: Alakazam can switch into Chansey fairly safely and threaten it with Thunder Wave and shrug off Chansey's Seismic Tosses with Recover. It usually can beat Chansey in a 1v1 scenario due to Psychic's Special drops and Alakazam's high critical hit rate.
[CREDITS]
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/murm.520168/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
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https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user6.105/
While not gaining too many useful options, Chansey still finds a place in STABmons due to its incredible special bulk, allowing it to stop Starmie, the number one Pokemon in the metagame. It has the incredible option of Thunder Wave, which is much more consistent than the Glare that many Normal-types have to use to spread paralysis. This allows Chansey to be an effective paralysis spreader, since physical attackers cannot OHKO a healthy Chansey without knocking themselves out with Explosion. It also gained access to two new amazing tools: Super Fang to consistently knock Pokemon down to half of their health, and an upgrade to its normal recovery move: Recover.
While it is incredibly hard to break Chansey on the special side, Chansey struggles to take attacks from the common Normal-type physical attackers due to its very low Defense stat. This also leads it to be incredibly weak to Explosion, one of the most common moves in the tier. Chansey gets OHKOed by STAB Explosions, and non STAB Explosions still do a very significant amount of damage, making it easy to revenge kill. This gives special attackers that Chansey would otherwise safely wall like Gengar and Exeggutor an option to remove Chansey from the battle. Unlike other Normal-types, Chansey cannot make use of the normally powerful options of Slash and Explosion, leading to its below average damage output. This is a major problem in a metagame as fast as STABmons.
[SET]
name: Special Wall
move 1: Seismic Toss
move 2: Thunderbolt / Super Fang
move 3: Recover
move 4: Thunder Wave
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Seismic Toss is Chansey's most consistent damaging move, allowing it to chip down targets like Gengar and Exeggutor. If the target is paralyzed, it can even threaten Recover users like Starmie. Thunderbolt allows Chansey to come in and hit Water-types like Starmie, Vaporeon, and Cloyster hard, forcing them to either switch-out or use Explosion to trade. This is especially useful into Starmie, as once it is paralyzed it cannot reliably survive multiple Thunderbolts with Recover. Alternatively, Super Fang can be a useful tool to chunk the normal switch-ins to Chansey like Tauros, Snorlax, and Clefable harder than Seismic Toss can. When paired with Thunder Wave, Super Fang can make it incredibly easy for Chansey's team to come in and revenge kill Pokemon with Recover, which can otherwise be a massive hassle to deal with without sacrificing another Pokemon to use Explosion. Thunder Wave allows Chansey to spread paralysis, notably making it harder for Pokemon like Tauros and Starmie to sweep late game. Thunder Wave also makes it significantly riskier for Recover users to spam the move, due to the risk of a full paralysis. Recover gives Chansey incredible longevity, allowing it to outlast the special attackers it wants to wall. Recover is the preferred healing option over Softboiled due to it having double the amount of PP.
Chansey's goal is to come in on threatening special attackers like Starmie and Exeggutor and spread paralysis. The main reason to use Chansey is to wall Starmie, since it cannot threaten Chansey too much outside of Thunder Wave, and Chansey threatens Starmie both with significant damage from Thunderbolt or Super Fang, and with Thunder Wave to cripple it late game. Starmie is generally forced out, allowing Chansey to spread more paralysis on the switch-in. Chansey can also be useful to come in on other special attackers, even if they have Explosion. Exeggutor is the most noteworthy example, though Chansey can really only safely check it after sleep clause is active. Other special attackers like Gengar, Jolteon, and Vaporeon can also be great opportunities to get Chansey in. None of these Pokemon love taking a Thunder Wave, and will ultimately lose the 1v1 interaction, so they are forced to either switch out or use Explosion. While having your Chansey take an Explosion like this might seem bad, it can sometimes be incredibly useful to remove these Pokemon for partners like Tauros and Starmie. Forcing Exeggutor to use Explosion is especially useful, since Chansey allows your own Exeggutor to stay healthy for the mid and late game. However, Chansey switching into these Pokemon will often lead it to getting paralyzed itself, since most of these Pokemon carry Thunder Wave or Glare. This hinders Chansey's ability to deal with physical attackers, meaning Chansey is usually forced to switch out against them. Something to keep in mind however, is that Chansey should really only take an Explosion after Starmie stops being a major concern.
Chansey really appreciates sleep leads, especially Gengar, since they can potentially put a special attacker that can threaten Chansey, like Jolteon and Alakazam to sleep. allowing Chansey to deal with them safely. Gengar can also potentially switch into Slashes and Explosions aimed at Chansey, and Gengar can freely use Explosion to dent or KO problematic Pokemon. Physically bulky Normal-types like Tauros and Kangaskhan also work incredibly well alongside Chansey. They can switch in and check opposing Normal-type attackers, and Chansey can switch-in and either wall or force an Explosion against the special attackers like Starmie and Gengar that threaten them. Chansey can also potentially get a crucial Thunder Wave off on an opposing Tauros or Kangaskhan, allowing your own Tauros or Kangaskhan to have a much easier time in the mirror, however if Chansey is damaged or paralyzed, it cannot reliably do so, so having more reliable checks to these Pokemon is important. Starmie and Exeggutor also love Chansey's support, since they are often tasked to deal with opposing Starmie and Exeggutor. Without them having to deal with the mirror matchup, they can stay healthy and pose a massive threat.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Ice Beam can be used alongside Thunderbolt to do much more significant damage to Exeggutor and Zapdos. However, this is generally not run since it allows other Special attackers like Alakazam and Jynx to come in much more freely and force Chansey out. Counter can be used by a healthy Chansey to take a Slash and surprise KO Pokemon like Tauros and Kangaskhan. It can also be used after an Explosion to get a suprise KO on an opponent switching out their Starmie or Exeggutor, two very common Pokemon to bring in after an Explosion, but the opportunity cost of dropping any of Chansey's moves makes it a rare choice. Similarly, Sing can be used to fish for sleep against Pokemon like Starmie who cannot directly threaten Chansey too much, either as they attack or as they switch out, but it can be very unreliable and hard to fit. Transform is another option that looks good on paper due to Chansey's massive HP stat, but quirks specific to RBY hold it back. If Chansey transforms into a Pokemon and gets a critical hit, the damage is calculated based on Chansey's stats. Similarly, if Chansey gets hit with a critical hit, the damage it takes is based off of its own stats. This leads Chansey to not be able to wield the tools of Pokemon like Tauros or Kangaskhan well, since its Slash does very little damage and opposing Slashes 2HKO it. Transform also does not copy the target's critical hit rate, leading to Chansey doing less damage on average than its target. Another problem is that Transform copies the Speed drop from paralysis and the Attack drop from burn, even if Chansey itself is not statused. This can lead to awkward situations where Chansey gets paralyzed after it transforms, and instead of getting speedties with a paralysed target, it would be always slower.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Normal-types**: Due to Chansey's low Defense, Normal-types like Tauros, Kangaskhan, Clefable, and Dodrio can all threaten Chansey with Slash, with Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Dodrio reliably 2HKOing Chansey and Clefable having a favorable 53.8% chance to do so. While none of these Pokemon like switching in on a Thunder Wave, they are great at forcing Chansey out, and they are usually able to find an opportunity later on to use Recover. Chansey can also potentially tank a Slash if it is healthy and get a crucial Thunder Wave off, which can be a very unfavorable trade for Pokemon like Tauros.
**Explosion**: Normal-types can reliably OHKO Chansey with Explosion, which makes it extremely unsafe for Chansey to try to stay in on them. Also many Special attackers like Exeggutor, Gengar, Vaporeon, and Jolteon can threaten Chansey with Explosion, making it impossible for Chansey to deal with them and other threats. While sometimes Chansey doesn't mind taking the Explosion to keep its partners healthy, if it takes an unnecessary Explosion, it can lead to its team being significantly weaker to a late game Starmie or Exeggutor.
**Alakazam**: Alakazam can switch into Chansey fairly safely and threaten it with Thunder Wave and shrug off Chansey's Seismic Tosses with Recover. It usually can beat Chansey in a 1v1 scenario due to Psychic's Special drops and Alakazam's high critical hit rate.
[CREDITS]
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/murm.520168/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.103/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user6.105/
Last edited:
