Lower Tiers GSC RarelyUsed

[Miyami~~~]

GSC RarelyUsed

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Thread posted with approval of BeeOrSomething

Welcome to the brand-new GSC RU tier! Following in the footsteps of ADV RU, this tier aims to take some of UU's weakest Pokemon, NUBL, and anything NU and below, and give them a chance to shine in a brand-new middle tier! Every Pokemon Tiered in UU or NUBL who is also ranked in B3 or Lower on UU's current viability rankings are eligible to compete here, creating an entirely new experience from any existing gsc tier.

This thread will primarily be used for resources, tiering updates, and on-forum discussion. If you're looking for something more immediate and short-form, please feel free to join our Discord Server!

GSC RU is currently only playable via challenge code, which you can find below:

Challenge Code

/challenge gen2nu @@@ +Arcanine, +Victreebel, +Kabutops, +Vileplume, +Pikachu, +Golduck, +Poliwrath, +Raichu, +Dodrio, +Sandslash, +Politoed, +Omastar, +Crobat

Clauses and general battle mechanics

• Species Clause: A player's team cannot contain two Pokémon with the same National Pokédex number.
• Sleep Clause: If a player has already put a Pokémon on their opponent's side to sleep and it is still sleeping, another one can't be put to sleep.
• Evasion Clause: A Pokémon's moveset cannot contain the moves Double Team or Minimize.
• OHKO Clause: A Pokémon's moveset cannot contain the moves Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, or Sheer Cold.
• Endless Battle Clause: A player cannot intentionally prevent an opponent from being able to end the game without forfeiting
• Swagger Clause: A Pokemon's moveset cannot contain the move Swagger.

GSC Mechanics:

• There is no team preview, your first Pokemon sent out is the first one in your team.
• A move being physical or special is determined by the type of the move.
  • Physical moves: Normal, Fighting, Rock, Ground, Ghost, Poison, Steel, Bug, Flying
  • Special moves: Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Psychic, Dark, Dragon
    • This means Hidden Power can be Physical as well as Special.
• Steel resists Dark and Ghost.
• Basically every good item besides Leftovers does not exist yet. Leftovers and Miracle (Lum) Berry are the only items you will see outside of corner case scenarios.
• Grass-types can be affected by powder moves. Electric-types can be paralyzed by Thunder Wave.
• Sleep Talk can call Rest, which functions normally. If a Pokemon uses Sleep Talk and calls Rest, their sleep turns will be reset to 0, and they will wake up on 2 like they would with Rest in every other generation, unless Rest is called again.
• Poison, Burn, and Leech Seed drain HP after the affected Pokemon attacks, while Leftovers heals at the end of the turn.
• If a Pokemon afflicted with Bad Poison (Toxic) switches out, the poison becomes regular Poison upon switching back in.
• Explosion and Self-Destruct halve the opponent's defense in damage calculation, giving them a base power of 500 and 400 respectively. If a faster Pokemon uses Explosion and the slower Pokemon survives, the slower Pokemon will not take a turn.
• Hidden Power is determined by IVs, meaning certain hidden powers (particularly Grass) come at the cost of a cut into your stats, even though you can max them all out otherwise.
• Giga Drain and other hp-draining moves fail on substitute.
• If you call Whirlwind or Roar via Sleep Talk while moving first, Roar/Whirlwind will fail.
• You can only set one layer of Spikes.
• Certain moves have compatibility issues, meaning some sets just won't work despite a Pokemon learning both moves because there's no way to legally put both on the same Pokemon.

Baton Pass

Every GSC tier has a different interpretation and application of Baton Pass clause due to the move's distribution, and certain tiers having Pokemon that are much better or worse than they would be in other tiers relative to the power level of said tier. We have elected to keep Baton Pass fully legal at the beginning of the tier, but are keeping a close eye on Speed Pass and Trap Pass at the moment. I'll update this part of the OP if we do ever do something. Only a small handful of fully evolved Pokemon get BP in this generation, most of which were already only niche in NU, and while the higher power level does mean better recipients, it also means Pokemon like Farfetch'd and Ledian have a very hard time actually coming in and setting up as the tier currently stands. This is a developing metagame, though, and action will be taken if deemend necessary.

RUBL

Kadabra

Viability Rankings

S:
A:
B1:
B2:
C:
D:
PVR Tier List Maker

tiering history

October 2nd, 2025: Kadabra banned
Set Compendium (WIP)
Check back on this post for additional resources from time to time as the tier develops more!

 

[Heatranator]

After internal disccusion in council and discussions with players in the discord server, we have decided to ban Kadabra after 4 out of 5 members voted to ban it (thanks to THE_CHUNGLER, FastCarVroom!!! and GCGoat for joining us for this vote).


Kadabra is a very powerful Pokemon in the metagame, with a blistering 105 speed stat, Kadabra outspeeds the majority of the metagame, with only Crobat, Dugtrio and Persian outspeeding it (unless you wanna count Sneasel but IDT many people will). None of these are able to immediately threaten it, and have to deal with being 2 shot by Psychic. Only really Persian can attempt to, but has to deal with Hypnosis's shaky 60% accuracy.
So that primarily leaves defensive counterplay as the option, of which there also is little. Bulky waters such as Politoed and Dewgong are probably the best, however they are still incredibly threatened by Psychic or Thunder Punch, with them both barely taking 3 Thunder Punch's. This means with even some Spikes support, both can be at the mercy of Kadabra. Xatu can switch into Psychic, but gets cleanly 2HKO'd by Thunder Punch. After that, there really isn't much that can take on Kadabra apart from itself. Only niche options such as Exeggcute and Houndour can, but those are otherwise poor to bad Pokemon, as while they can check Kadabra and potentially other Pokemon such as Raichu and the waters for the former, and Xatu for the latter, they are otherwise extremelly underwelming.
Another issue with Kadabra is the utility options, as after Psychic, Thunder Punch, and Recover, Kadabra has a free moveslot to experiment with. Thunder Wave can cripple both walls and faster Pokemon, meaning they can be forced to Rest earlier or be unable to outspeed Kadabra, Encore can allow Kadabra to beat Rest-Talk Pokemon that might otherwise somewhat stave it off, allowing it a free attack on a teammate or a completely free switch into a teammate of its own, Counter can beat trying to out offensing it with something such as Double-Edge Arcanine, as despite Kadabra's pitiful physical defense, it still has enough bulk to live most non STAB Double-Edges, or Substitute to take advantage of switches and potentially beat offensive counterplay. Thief and Light Screen are also options to either cripple a wall or beat something such as Houndour it should usually falter against.
Thus, we have decided to ban Kadabra.

We also discussed speed pass and Dodrio.


Saying that Baton Pass can be controversial in tiers it can be used in would be putting it lightly. Most tiers have some sort of restriction on the move, but as of rn it is completely unrestricted in GSC RU. This is because the current speed passers being Ariados, Farfetch'd, and Ledian don't exactly make for the best Pokemon, as while they can find switch-in opportunities, they typically put are limited, especially Farfetch'd. However though, if they do get off an Agility pass, the options to abuse it are powerful, as Pokemon such as Pikachu, Poliwrath/Politoed, Omastar, Kabutops, Victreebel etc are all potentially game ending. There also is Trap pass and Growth pass, though those are a lot more reigned in. Trap pass is exclusive to Ariados, so typically its very easy to see coming and while it is powerful, Ariados can struggle to take attacks from Pokemon such as Arcanine and Raichu. Conversly, Growth Pass is only viable on Flareon, as while you can pass an Agility to it beforehand, it is otherwise a very slow Pokemon that while good, can struggle with the multitude of Water-types in the tier. However, since Baton Pass has shown to rear its ugly head a multitude of times, we will keep a close eye on it.


Dodrio was one of the featured Pokemon in the B3 drops, and so far has established itself as a great Pokemon in the tier. With a fast 100 Speed stat and 110 base Attack, Dodrio certainly is both fast and powerful. This is especially the case with Double-Edge, which can threaten to 2shot even bulky Pokemon such as Arcanine. With access to Thief, it can also cripple walls such as Omastar that might otherwise impede it. However, Dodrio has some issues it runs into. With its Normal/Flying typing, Dodrio can struggle to easily switch in, as even the Ground-types such as Sandslash and Dugtrio can threaten it with Rock Slide. Furthermore, despite its access to Hidden Power Ground and Hidden Power Grass, Dodrio can struggle quite a lot into Rock types such as Kabutops, Omastar, Sudowoodo and Graveler, who all can threaten it for large damage and even something such as Graveler can take a Hidden Power Grass from full. And while its damage is certainly good, it isn't threatening OHKO's against Pokemon such as Raichu that can threaten it out. Dodrio might become problematic as the tier evolves, but for the moment, it is a powerful, but healthy addition to the tier.

And since they are probably top two Pokemon in the tier, I'd like to discuss quickly why we didn't vote on both Raichu and Arcanine.


In the short time the tier has been played, Raichu has established itself as the best Pokemon in the tier, as its great 100 speed stat, STAB Thunder, and bevvy of options such as Surf, Thief, Thunder Wave, Encore, HP Ice make it an incredible Pokemon. While these are all certainly good traits, there are some drawbacks that are to be found. Firstly, Grass types such as Vileplume, Victreebel, and Exeggcute are all able to pretty reliably check it, as they can stomach Thunder while only really being threatened by HP Ice variants, and even still these Raichu variants need a lot to go right to break through them. Secondly, Ground types such as Sandslash, Dugtrio and depending on whether Raichu is running Surf or not, Graveler and Pupitar, can all somewhat check it, as while they can't switch into its coverage options, can force it out with Earthquake. Finally, Raichu is not insanely strong enough or bulky enough to immediately clean games, as Pokemon such as Arcanine, Stantler and Weezing can at worst, trade with it. Overall, Raichu is a powerful, but ultimately healthy addition to the tier.


The other top dog (pun not intended) of the metagame, Arcanine simply can out stat the tier, with amazing bulk, power and even good speed, it has a lot of options in its tool kit. From the standard Rest talk sets, to Curse Sweeping sets, to Roar variants to phaze out answers and rack up Spikes chip, Arcanine can do it all. However, there are clear and defined answers to Arcanine. The main issue with Arcanine is the amount of bulky Rock and Water types in the tier, or for Kabutops and Omastar, being both of those things. While it can tech Hidden Power Grass for these options, this cuts heavily into its DV's and thus is more relegated for a lure option. If it doesn't have HP Grass, these pokemon can hard wall it, as the Rock types completely wall it, only being threatened by HP Ground on Curse variants that have obtained multiple boosts (which most teams will not allow it to get easily) and the Water types can take most of its attacks, really only being threatened by Double-Edge if paired with Spikes, though even these have to get chip damage on them. Combined with the fact that a fair few amount of teams use both Rock and Water types on the same team, and while Arcanine can certainly be a good Pokemon, it does have to work to win a game.


Here is the new challenge code:
/challenge gen2nu @@@ +Arcanine, +Victreebel, +Kabutops, +Vileplume, +Pikachu, +Golduck, +Poliwrath, +Raichu, +Dodrio, +Sandslash, +Politoed, +Omastar, +Crobat


In addition, we have our first VR! We'd like to thank the council for helping us with this by submitting there personal VR's.

 

[THE_CHUNGLER]

I was a big lobbyist for kadabra's ban. It's stats and typing were just way too good for the power level. Unlike in UU where there are many bulky psychics that check kadabra, RU only has psychics like xatu that lose 1v1 to kadabra. It was also one of the fastest mons with access to GSC recover, which made it surprisingly bulky when dealing with the Pokemon that weren't 2hko'd by psychic. Golduck and Riachu would have to restloop while kadabra just recovers to full. To deal with Kadabra, you needed twave or paralysis on pokemon that weren't weak to psychic, which was pretty hard to come by. Raichu runs thunder but good luck hitting and paralyze kadabra while its forcing you ro restloop and staying at full HP. Many different sets for kadabra were used such as sub recover, twave, and encore.

Otherwise, I've been having a lot of fun playing this tier, there's a good balance of defensive resttalkers that aren't too passive (Arcanine and Raichu), and offensive mons that try to target those walls (Kabutops and Sandslash really thrive in this lower power level). Spikes is a bit awkward because Pineco is so badly outstatted, but they're definitely a strong style just due to being gsc spikes.

Here's my VR!

 

[FastCarVroom!!!]

Was one of the council members to vote ban on Kadabra as well. Similar to what Chungler and Heatranator have articulated above, the main issues surrounding Kadabra involved it's powerful special attack stat, speed tier, and wide range of dangerous support moves. If there were a more consistent psychic resist in the tier maybe there could be some argument for their to be more time taken on considering Kadabra's viability, but considering the best options are Houndour and Magnemite, I don't really see another conclusion to come to at the moment.

Generally speaking, Kadabra has been running psychic, t-punch, recover, filler as its ideal moveset. The 4th move slot has a wide variety of options such as counter, t-wave, light screen, encore, thief, nightmare, etc. pretty much giving it the ability to handle whatever checks it needs to for a given matchup. A single psychic drop on the wrong turn can be extremely devastating, sometimes even losing you the entire game in the right conditions. Counter can ruin arcanine, xatu, and others on a dime as it can land a suprise ko out of nowhere on what would be somewhat solid answers. T-wave can cripple the one would be psychic immunity in the tier in Houndour. Encore can really abuse rest and setup mons. Ultimately kadabra has the tools to abuse every matchup in the tier with little counter play outside of using one yourself and fishing for drops or engaging in t-wave wars. I think it is for these reasons that me and others thought that a quick ban was necessary if there is to be a potential kickoff tour in the near future.

There are other aspects of the tier that we're trying to keep a close eye on. Dodrio, and speed pass being the main other two points of contention. It seems that everyone so far has been in most agreement that although Dodrio is strong there are answers to it. Non Rest sets are pretty susceptible to status such as t-wave, and two atk rest talk sets generally have to sacrifice coverage meaning that there are relatively consistent defensive answers depending on the coverage it has. given that Raichu also has the highest usage rate in the tier as well as Sandslash and many other mons choosing to run rock coverage it can also be difficult for Dodrio to hit the field at times and find an opportune moment to sweep. Speed Pass being limited to mons Such as Ariados and ledian generally means that it takes a lot of positioning in order to pull off a successful agill pass to a teammate. The tier as of now is rather offensive, so a lot of teams are stacking threats such as Arcanine, Raichu, offensive waters, and sleep mons, all of which make achieving an agility pass rather difficult. It's definitely still being monitored by us but was not something we felt needed immediate action.

Overall I think I can speak for most people both on council and those who have been actively engaging and playing the tier that outside of Kadabra, the tier has felt both enjoyable to play and balanced overall as of now. There are consistent top tier threats that help add centralization without feeling overbearing, there is a healthy arrangement of playstyles both offensive and defensive that help the tier feel both fun and rewarding of skill. If anyone has any questions feel free to drop by the discord, hangout ask questions and play a few games because the tier is definitely worth it!

My personal VR as of now in post Kadab Meta:)