Guide to RBY Battling

[Destiny Warrior]

It's forcing me to use a prefix, so I had to use an OU prefix as it was the best one.

This is completed.


<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>RBY is the oldest generation of Pokemon, generally considered the “original” generation by fans. RBY is a generation filled with its own quirks such as critical hit rates, which makes playing it an unpredictable experience. For a full list of important differences between RBY and the generations that followed, click here, and for a list of critical hit probabilities for various Pokemon, click here.</p>

<h2>Rules</h2>
Sleep Clause is on.
Freeze Clause is on.
Evasion Clause is on.
OHKO Clause is on.
Species Clause is on.

<h2>The Banned Pokemon</h2>

<h1>Mewtwo</h1>
<p>Mewtwo is a terror in RBY, possessing huge 106/110/90/154/130 stats, backed by a movepool with all the right tools, including Amnesia, which is a huge weapon. With a single Amnesia, Mewtwo reaches 812 Special, and if it gets a second, it can raise it to the limit of 999 Special. Its Psychic typing provides it one of the best STAB in RBY ; with Ice Beam for freeze wars with Chansey and for covering most Psychic types, Mewtwo possesses no surefire stop, and even the best checks often exit crippled.</p>

<h1>Mew</h1>
<p>Mew is a lot calmer than Mewtwo, possessing much less frightening stats. However, to compensate, it learns every single TM and HM, and has stunning versatility. With a set of Swords Dance / Earthquake / Rock Slide / Explosion, it can sweep through a lot of the metagame, but not nearly as well as Mewtwo. However, it is still extremely powerful, and can also go down several other avenues.</p>

<h2>Tradebacks</h2>

<p>Tradebacks in RBY are moves a Pokemon gains by being traded to Pokemon Gold, Silver or Crystal and being taught the moves in those games, and then being traded back. Tradebacks vastly change the metagame, and the newfound access to moves like Ice Punch and other TM moves lead to shifts in the metagame. However, tradebacks are not allowed in standard RBY rules. A more detailed guide to RBY Tradebacks can be found here.</p>

<h2>“Wrapping” Moves</h2>

<p>“Wrapping moves” are one of the most debated topics in RBY. These moves are namely Wrap, Fire Spin, Clamp and Bind. While most of the users of these moves are slow, two Pokemon with access to these moves also have access to Agility, namely Moltres and Dragonite. They can use Agility to outspeed everything in the metagame, and proceed to use Fire Spin or Wrap respectively to prevent the opponent from attacking, all the while doing chip damage. Due to a glitch, “wrapping” moves effectively have infinite PP in RBY, so they can sweep an entire team after an Agility. However, they both possess imperfect accuracy, and so are prone to miss, meaning they are a bit risky.</p>

<h2>Standards</h2>

<h1>Alakazam</h1>
<p>Alakazam is one of the most popular Pokemon in RBY. Three out of its four moves, namely Psychic, Recover and Thunder Wave are to be expected; the fourth slot is what makes players wary of directly switching anything into it. Reflect provides it an additional defense against Physically based Pokemon, Seismic Toss lets it handle Chansey, Slowbro, Exeggutor, Jynx and Reflect Alakazam without getting into long stall wars and Counter allows it to beat Seismic Toss Alakazam and do a lot of damage back from taking Snorlax's or Tauros' Body Slams, and can provide a safe option if you predict them switching out.</p>

<h1>Articuno</h1>
<p>Articuno is not a very popular Pokemon in RBY OU, but it does appear every now and then. Articuno has the strongest Blizzard in the game bar none, and not many Pokemon outside of Chansey will like switching into it repeatedly. With access to Agility to go on the offensive, and Reflect, Rest and Ice Beam for a defensive approach, Articuno is not one-dimensional, and is certainly a threat not to be forgotten while building a team.</p>

<h1>Chansey</h1>
<p>Chansey is the best Special sponge in the game, and can also soak up paralysis very well. Chansey taking on a Special Attacker will inevitably end in a stall war, but the threat of paralysis from Thunder Wave is usually enough to quickly force a switch. It will dislike taking Physical attacks, but it can use Counter when high on health for netting a surprise KO on Tauros, a major force in the tier. It is also the best stop to Starmie.</p>

<h1>Cloyster</h1>
<p>Cloyster is one of the most physically defensive Pokemon in RBY. WIth a massive 180 base Defense, it can interrupt Snorlax and Tauros sweep attempts with the threat of Explosion and Blizzard freezes are always a possibility when attempting to square off against it. Cloyster has access to Clamp as well, which can be used for gaining "free" damage on Pokemon switching into it, or with paralysis support can be used for cleaning a team up.</p>

<h1>Dodrio</h1>
<p>Dodrio is not overly common in RBY. It is occasionally used similar to Tauros, with superior Speed in exchange for lower Attack. Dodrio lacks a way to hit Golem and Rhydon, but once they are removed, it can function alongside Tauros by weakening Pokemon for a Tauros sweep, or even sweep by itself.

<h1>Dragonite</h1>
<p>Dragonite is generally used for the purpose of abusing the infamous "AgiliWrap" strategy. This is a somewhat luck-reliant strategy, and as such Dragonite should get adequate paralysis support as a failsafe in case it is unable to use Agility. Using Wrap is often a painfully slow to win, and if it misses at any point of time, Dragonite is probably looking at taking a powerful hit.</p>

<h1>Exeggutor</h1>
<p>Exeggutor is commonly seen as a lead, sporting four of Sleep Powder, Mega Drain, Stun Spore, Double-Edge, Explosion and Psychic. The last two slots lend Exeggutor much of its venom. If it has Stun Spore, it can cripple Physical sweepers trying to scare it out, if it has Double-Edge, Alakazam is not a safe switch-in (though Exeggutor will dislike the recoil), if it has Explosion, Chansey is not safe, and if it has Psychic, it is not safe to stall against it due to Special falls. Once Exeggutor's complete moveset is revealed, you can send in an appropriate check, but until then, it's a guessing game.</p>

<h1>Gengar</h1>
<p>Gengar is one of the leads and is the fastest user of a Sleep move in the RBY metagame. Gengar is also commonly used to absorb Sleep moves, because its main job outside of the lead role is to absorb Explosions and Selfdestructs. Gengar has Mega Drain, to make Golem and Rhydon think twice before switching into it. Gengar also has an Explosion of its own to threaten Chansey with. Unlike later generations, Gengar is not built to be offensive, but is rather more oriented towards support.</p>

<h1>Golem</h1>
<p>Golem is one of the two popular Rock/Ground types in RBY, the other being Rhydon. They perform identical roles, being checks to Electric type Pokemon and switch-ins to Hyper Beams from the common Normal-types. Golem's niche is its access to Explosion and it's greater Speed, which means it is a perpetual threat to anything that might switch into it. Golem must flee at the sight of Exeggutor and Slowbro, who possess 4x super effective STAB attacks to dispatch of it.</p>

<h1>Hypno</h1>
<p>Hypno is an uncommon, but not never-seen lead in the RBY metagame. Being slow, Hypno has to rely heavily on luck to put a Pokemon to sleep, but in exchange it works very well as a sleep absorber. It is also quite Specially bulky, and has access to Thunder Wave for spreading paralysis after it puts something to Sleep.</p>

<h1>Jolteon</h1>
<p>Like Zapdos, Jolteon is an Electric type that can strike from both sides of the spectrum with STAB Electric attacks on the Special side, and Double Kick and Pin Missile on the Physical side. It makes a good switch-in to Zapdos. With Pin Missile, it can scare away quite a few Psychics, especially Exeggutor, who is 4x weak to it, while with Double Kick, it can put pressure on Chansey, especially if it had been involved in a stall war previously. Double Kick is also a decent source of chip damage on Rhydon and Golem as they switch in.</p>

<h1>Jynx</h1>
<p>Jynx is another popular lead, sporting Lovely Kiss(which is more accurate than Hypnosis), alongside access to Body Slam, Blizzard and Psychic. With a bit of luck on its side, lead Jynx can catch the opponent on switches with its access to various moves that can induce status conditions, though it will more often lure out Chansey. Some Jynx also forgo Body Slam for Rest or a secondary Ice-type move, with the former being to stall other Psychics, and the latter for fishing for freezes.</p>

<h1>Lapras</h1>
<p>Lapras is one of the Special attackers of RBY. It has a wide spectrum of neutral coverage, with Blizzard and Thunderbolt. Usually, Lapras run Rest and / or Reflect to take advantage of its usable bulk, and can frighten out paralyzed Pokemon with ease. To round out its movepool, it can use Body Slam for the chance of paralysis, and to make Physically based Pokemon think twice before switching in. Alternatively, it can run Rest alongside Confuse Ray, or even run Sing for the chance of crippling a Pokemon.</p>

<h1>Persian</h1>
<p>Persian competes with Tauros for the role of Physical sweeper on teams. Tauros has higher Attack, but Persian's advantage lies in its higher speed(and consequently a higher critical hit rate) and Slash. It also can use Screech to hit switch-ins very hard, and can force switches easily with the threat of Hyper Beam. It requires less paralysis support, but lacks the reliability that Tauros has, and cannot break past Gengar.</p>

<h1>Rhydon</h1>
<p>Rhydon is Golem's competitor in every way in RBY. While possessing slightly better stats overall, it does not have Explosion, so it cannot keep your opponent on their toes like Golem can. However, stronger STAB moves mean Rhydon will damage switch-ins more, and will punish mispredictions harsher. Like Golem, Rhydon will flee from Exeggutor and Slowbro and their 4x super effective STABs.</p>

<h1>Slowbro</h1>
<p>Slowbro is a lategame sweeper with access to Amnesia and Rest. It can also go down the support route, with Thunder Wave to cripple the Physical attackers who commonly switch into it. It also is an exceptional lure for Chansey, and in the hands of a good player with prediction skills, it can be used for chain switches very well. It's most common set is Surf / Rest / Thunder Wave / Amnesia(dubbed "TobyBro" by fans").</p>

<h1>Snorlax</h1>
<p>Snorlax is one of the two most common Physical sweepers in RBY, the other being Tauros. Snorlax can run 2 main sets, a Physical set or an Amnesia set, though the former is far more popular due to its immediate sweeping power, and having nothing that truly walls it. Snorlax is a universal threat in RBY, and every team must pack Pokemon that will stop it from making much headway into a team.</p>

<h1>Starmie</h1>
<p>Starmie is one of the biggest Specially based threats in the RBY metagame. Starmie is probably the reason Chansey is needed on every team, as it has such good neutral coverage to the point that attempting to beat it with other Psychics is difficult. Between Surf, Blizzard and Thunderbolt, Starmie has 3 options for two of its moveslots alongside Recover and Thunder Wave. Starmie's versatility is amazing for RBY, and the only way to truly stop it is to use Chansey. Exeggutor can also take it on, with Mega Drain being a close 2HKO, with the HP restored usually putting it out of Blizzard's 3HKO range,</p>

<h1>Tauros</h1>
<p>Tauros is the premier Physical sweeper of RBY. It also acts as a revenge killer. Switching into it always risks paralysis, and a well-played Tauros will stay paralysis-free till the end of the game, where it can take advantage of crippled Pokemon to clean up. By the time it comes out, all Pokemon should have been weakened into the ~50% range, where Tauros can sweep with its STAB and Coverage moves. Unlike Snorlax, Tauros basically needs to have only 3 Pokemon paralyzed: Alakazam, Starmie and Gengar. Paralyzing other Pokemon is a bonus, but having them merely weakened is usually enough for Tauros to sweep.</p>

<h1>Tentacruel</h1>
<p>Tentacruel is not very commonly used in OU, but it can still pose a threat with Swords Dance and Wrap, with Surf/Hydro Pump to take out Rhydon and Golem. Tentacruel needs quite a bit of paralysis support to function, as unlike Dragonite and Moltres, it cannot boost its Speed in any way, and is prey to faster Pokemon.</p>

<h1>Venusaur</h1>
<p>Venusaur is not a very common sight in OU. However, it has access to Sleep Powder, Swords Dance, good Attack, Razor Leaf and Hyper Beam, which combine for a threatening set. Swords Dance boosted Hyper Beams are very powerful, and with Razor Leaf, Venusaur can obtain crits to stop Slowbro, Rhydon and Golem in their tracks. With Sleep Powder, Venusaur can put one of its checks to sleep, and proceed to set off a mini-sweep. Switching into Venusaur is very difficult, and it will often necessitate a sacrifice if you are unable to predict perfectly.</p>

<h1>Victreebel</h1>
<p>With access to Wrap, Victreebel can use a Hyper Beam/Wrap/Sleep Powder/Razor Leaf set to decent effect. While not a top-tier threat, it can still take an unprepared team unawares. It requires considerable paralysis support to function to the best of its ability however. Alternatively, it can sacrifice the ability to put an opponent to sleep for spreading paralysis itself, to play somewhat similarly to Dragonite by outspeeding its opponents after paralysis. Victreebel also has access to Swords Dance, but the Wrap set is more common.</p>

<h1>Zapdos</h1>
<p>In later generations, Zapdos is a Special Attacker of considerable repute. However, in RBY, Zapdos is a mixed attacker. It is completely stopped by Golem and Rhydon, but once they are removed, Zapdos can start running through a weakened team much like how Tauros does. However, sitting at 100 base Speed means it is outsped by a few key threats, but they cannot switch in safely due to the risk of Zapdos carrying Thunder Wave. All in all, Zapdos is a very threatening sweeper, and keeping Golem/Rhydon alive until it is eliminated is very important.</p>

<h2>The Lead Metagame</h2>
<p>The RBY lead metagame is considerably simpler than those of the later generations, with four "major" leads, and the occasional anti-metagame lead. Leads are not as crucial as later generations, as there are no entry hazards to stack, but they do serve their own purposes.

<h1>Alakazam</h1>
<p>Alakazam as a lead is different from the other three "major" leads in that it does not spread Sleep. Instead, Alakazam is used to beat Gengar and tie with Jynx leads, and in exchange loses to Exeggutor leads. Alakazam's chances to come out on top against Jynx depend on Lovely Kiss missing and Alakazam having Seismic Toss.</p>

<h1>Exeggutor</h1>
<p>Exeggutor is the slowest of the "major" leads, and to compensate can pack dual status in the form of Sleep Powder and Stun Spore. Exeggutor beats Alakazam and Gengar, while losing to Jynx.</p>

<h1>Gengar</h1>
<p>Gengar's niche as a lead stems from being the fastest Pokemon with access to a Sleep-inducing move in the RBY metagame. Gengar does not fare as well the previous leads, beating Jynx and losing to Alakazam and Exeggutor.</p>

<h1>Jynx</h1>
<p>Jynx is the fastest user of a Sleep move with 75% accuracy. Jynx beats Exeggutor, ties with Alakazam and loses to Gengar. Jynx can also inflict the dangerous freeze status with its STAB Blizzard, which makes it risky to stall against it.</p>

<h2>Basic Battling Goals</h2>

<h2>Common Team</h2>
<p>Given below is a sample RBY OU team:</p>

Jynx
- Blizzard
- Lovely Kiss
- Psychic
- Body Slam

<p>Jynx is the lead, and is responsible for putting a Pokemon to sleep quickly and possibly attempting to freeze and paralyze. Jynx is the fastest Pokemon with acess to a 75% accurate Sleep-inducing move, which helps it in its job. This is what Jynx does against the common leads:-</p>

Vs Exeggutor: The threat of Blizzard can force it out. Jynx can safely use Lovely Kiss.
Vs Jynx: This is a speed tie. Lovely Kiss, followed by a switch to Chansey.
Vs Alakazam: Switch to Chansey to soak up the Psychic or to get paralyzed, and then force it out with the threat of paralysis.

Alakazam
- Psychic
- Recover
- Reflect
- Thunder Wave

<p>Alakazam is a natural fit on close to every team, and can take on several Pokemon with its high Special and access to Reflect and Thunder Wave. Spreading paralysis is a major part of RBY, and Alakazam is one of the best Pokemon for the job. As a bonus, with Recover, it can go into most one-on-one matchups and come out the victor. The downside is that Alakazam must flee from Pokemon with Thunder Wave until it has done its job of eliminating Physical threats and paralyzing the required Pokemon.</p>

Chansey
- Ice Beam
- Softboiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt

<p>Chansey is obligatory on every RBY team, for the purpose of dealing with Starmie. With its bulk, Chansey can spread paralysis very well, and can stall out a lot of Pokemon. If it gets lucky, it can also freeze one of the opponent’s Pokemon, which in RBY is as good as KOing it.</p>

Snorlax
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Selfdestruct
- Hyper Beam

<p>Snorlax is Tauros' partner. Snorlax helps in weakening a team and spreading paralysis. It also is a useful Exploder, which can remove Chansey, a huge asset. It also is good for killing weak paralyzed Pokemon with Hyper Beam.</p>

Golem
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
- Body Slam

<p>Using one of Golem and Rhydon is important in RBY, as they are the best counters to Zapdos. The threat of Explosion makes Golem unpredictable, and Gengar cannot safely switch in because of the risk of Earthquake. Golem is slow, but packs Body Slam for potential paralysis, and has paralysis support from Alakazam and Chansey.</p>

Tauros
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam

<p>Tauros is an excellent revenge killer and lategame sweeper, and once its requirements of sufficient paralysis and opponents weakened into the 40%-50% range are satisfied, Tauros can come out and proceed to sweep through a team without any stops.</p>

<h2>Paralyzing</h2>
<p>Paralysis is one of the most important statuses in RBY, and is the most commonly seen. Often, if you have a free turn and are not sure what to do, using a paralysis move is a low-risk option with high rewards. This especially works if none of your opponent's Pokemon have been afflicted with a status condition. Inflicting paralysis is also important for the sake of allowing sweepers to pick apart a team, as fast Pokemon like Gengar and Alakazam can give them problems. Every team should have two to three Pokemon with moves inflicting paralysis.</p>

<h2>Closing Words</h2>
<p>Hopefully this guide has been useful to you. These are merely the basics of RBY however, and there is no better way to go further from here than actually playing the metagame!<.p>

 

[Engineer Pikachu]

Not a GP person, but I'll try.
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<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>RBY is the oldest generation of Pokemon, alsogenerally considered the “original” generation by fans. RBY is a generation filled with its own quirks such as critical hit rates, which makemakes playing it an unpredictable experience. For a full list of important differences between RBY and the generations that followed, click here, and for a list of critical hit probabilities for various Pokemon, click here.</p>

<h2>Rules</h2>
Sleep Clause is on.
Freeze Clause is on.
Evasion Clause is on.
OHKO Clause is on.
Species Clause is on.

<h2>The Banned Pokemon</h2>

<h1>Mewtwo</h1>
<p>Mewtwo is a terror in RBY, possessing huge 106/110/90/154/130 stats, backed by a movepool with all the right tools, including Amnesia, which is a huge weapon. With a single Amnesia, Mewtwo reaches 812 Special, and if it gets a second, it can raise it to the limit of 999 Special. Its Psychic typing provides it one of the best STABSTABs in RBY, and with Ice Beam for freeze wars with Chansey and for covering most Psychic types, Mewtwo possesses no surefire stop, and; even the best checks often exit crippled.</p>

<h1>Mew</h1>
<p>Mew is a lot calmer than Mewtwo, possessing much less frightening stats. However, to compensate, it learns every single TM and HM, and has stunning versatility. With a set of Swords Dance / Earthquake / Rock Slide / Explosion, it can sweep through a lot of the metagame, but not nearly as well as Mewtwo. However, it is still extremely powerful, and can also go down several other avenues.</p>

<h2>Tradebacks</h2>

<p>Tradebacks in RBY are moves a Pokemon gains by being traded to Pokemon Gold, Silver or Crystal and being taught the moves in those games, and then being traded back. Tradebacks vastly change the metagame, and the newfound access to moves like Ice Punch and other TM moves lead to shifts in the metagame. However, tradebacks are not allowed in standard RBY rules. A more detailed guide to RBY Tradebacks can be found here.</p>

<h2>“Wrapping” Moves</h2>

<p>“Wrapping moves” are one of the most debated topics in RBY. These moves are namely Wrap, Fire Spin, Clamp and Bind. While most of the users of these moves are slow, two Pokemon with access to these moves also have access to Agility, namely Moltres and Dragonite. They can use Agility to outspeed everything in the metagame, and proceed to use Fire Spin or Wrap, respectively, to prevent the opponent from attacking, all the while doing chip damage. Due to a glitch, “wrapping” moves effectively have infinite PP in RBY, so they can sweep an entire team after an Agility. However, they both possess imperfect accuracy, and so are prone to miss, meaning they are a bit risky.</p>
​

<h2>Standards</h2>

<h1>Alakazam</h1>
<p>Alakazam is one of the most popular Pokemon in RBY. Three out of its four moves, namely Psychic, Recover, and Thunder Wave are expectableto be expected; the fourth slot is what makes players wary of directly switching anything into it. Reflect provides it an additional defense against Physically based Pokemon, Seismic Toss lets it handlyhandle Chansey, Slowbro, Exeggutor, Jynx, and Reflect Alakazam without getting into long stall wars and Counter allows it to beat Seismic Toss Alakazam and do a lot of damage back from taking Snorlax's or Tauros' Body Slams, and can provide a safe option if you predict them switching out.</p>

<h1>Articuno</h1>
<p>Articuno is not a very popular Pokemon in RBY OU, but it does appear every now and then. Articuno has the strongest Blizzard in the game bar none, and not many Pokemon outside of Chansey will like switching into it repeatedly. With access to Agility to go on the offensive, and Reflect, Rest, and Ice Beam for a defensive approach, Articuno is not one-dimensional, and is certainly a threat not to be forgotten while building a team.</p>

<h1>Chansey</h1>
<p>Chansey is the best Special sponge in the game, and can also soak up paralysis very well. Chansey taking on a Special Attacker will inevitably end in a stall war, but the threat of paralysis from Thunder Wave is usually enough to quickly force a switch. It will dislike taking Physical attacks, but in a pinchit can use Counter when high on health for netting a surprise KO on Tauros, a major force in the tier. It is alosalso the best stop to Starmie, and though in a one-on-one Starmie wins against it, it has to exhaust most of its PP and must take paralysis, a prospect it dislikes.</p>

<h1>Dragonite</h1>
<p>Dragonite is generally used for the purpose of abusing the infamous "AgiliWrap" strategy. This is a somewhat luck-reliant strategy, and as such Dragonite should get adequate paralysis support as a failsafe in case it is unable to use Agility. Using Wrap is often a painfully slow to win, and if it misses at any point of time, Dragonite is probably looking at taking a powerful hit.</p>

<h1>Exeggutor</h1>
<p>Exeggutor is commonly seen as a lead, sporting Sleep Powder, Mega Drain, and two of Stun Spore, Double-Edge, Explosion, and Psychic. The last two slots lend Exeggutor much of its venom. If it has Stun Spore, it can cripple Physical sweepers trying to scare it out, if it has Double-Edge, Alakazam is not a safe switch-in(though Exeggutor will dislike the recoil), if it has Explosion, Chansey is not safe, and if it has Psychic, it is not safe to stall against it due to Special falls. Once Exeggutor's complete moveset is revealed, you can send in an appropriate check, but uniluntil then, it's a guessing game.</p>

<h1>Gengar</h1>
<p>Gengar is one the most common leads and is the fastest user of a Sleep move in the RBY metagame. Gengar is also commonly used to absorb Sleep moves, because its main job outside of the lead role is to absorb Explosions and Selfdestructs. Gengar has Mega Drain, to make Golem and Rhydon think twice before switching into it. Gengar also has an Explosion of its own to threaten Chansey with. Gengar is not entirely good however. Lack of STAB hurts it, and its attacks often lack that extra power needed to grab a KO on a somewhat weakened opponent, and its weakness to Psychic type attacks hurts it.</p>

<h1>Golem</h1>
<p>Golem is one of the two popular Rock/Ground types in RBY, the other being Rhydon. They perform identical roles, being checks to Electric type Pokemon and switch-ins to Hyper Beams from the common Normal-types. Golem's niche is its access to Explosion, which means it is a perpetual threat to anything that might switch into it. Golem must flee at the sight of Exeggutor and Slowbro, who possess 4x super effective STAB attacks to dispatch of it.</p>

<h1>Jynx</h1>
<p>Jynx is another popular lead, sporting Lovely Kiss(which is more accurate than Hypnosis), alongside access to Body Slam, Blizzard and Psychic. With a bit of luck on its side, lead Jynx can catch the opponent on switches with its access to various moves that can induce status conditions, though it will more oftenlyoften lure out Chansey.</p>

<h1>Lapras</h1>
<p>Lapras is one of the Special attackers of RBY. It has a wide spectrum of neutral coverage, with Surf, Blizzard, Thunderbolt and Psychic. Usually, Lapras run Rest and / or Reflect to take advantage of its usable bulk, and can frighten out paralyzed Pokemon with ease. To round out its movepool, it can use Body Slam for the chance of paralysis, and to make Physically absedbased Pokemon think twice before switching in.</p>

<h1>Moltres</h1>
<p>Moltres is not very common in RBY, and its main use is to use the infamous "AgiliWrap" strategy, only with Fire Spin over Wrap. Moltres is not as good as Dragonite at this, because Fire Spin is less accurate. However, it can still use it well, and should be thought of while building a team.</p>

<h1>Persian</h1>
<p>Persian competes with Tauros for the role of Physical sweeper on teams. Tauros has higher Attack, but Persian's advantage lies in its higher speed (and consequently a higher critical hit rate) and Slash. It also can use Screech to hit switch-ins very hard, and can force switches easily with the threat of Hyper Beam. It requires less paralysis support, but lacks the reliability that Tauros has, and cannot break past Gengar.</p>

<h1>Rhydon</h1>
<p>Rhydon is Golem's competitor in every way in RBY, While possessing slightly better stats overall, it does not have Explosion, so it cannot keep your opponent on their toes like Golem can. However, stronger STAB moves mean Rhydon will damage switch-ins more, and will punish mispredictions harsher. Like Golem, Rhydon will flee from Exeggutor and Slowbro and their 4x super effective STABs.</p>

<h1>Slowbro</h1>
<p>Slowbro is a lategame sweeper with access to Amnesia and Rest. It can also go down the support route, with Thunder Wave to cripple the Physical Aattackers who commonly switch into it. It also is an exceptional lure for Chansey, and in the hands of a good player with prediction skills, it can be used for chain switches very well. Its STABs provide good coverage, and as such, it doesn't need coverage moves for its Amnesia set(dubbed "TobyBro" by fans).</p>

<h1>Snorlax</h1>
<p>Snorlax is one of the two most common Physical sweepers in RBY, the other being Tauros. Snorlax can run 2 main sets, a Physical set or an Amnesia set, though the former is far more popular due to its immediate sweeping power, and having nothing that truly walls it. Snorlax is a universal threat in RBY, and every team must pack Pokemon that will stop it from making much headway into a team.</p>

<h1>Starmie</h1>
<p>Starmie is one of the biggest Specially based threats in the RBY metagame. Starmie is probably the reason Chansey is neeedneeded on every team, as it has such good neutral coverage to the point that attempting to beat it with other Psychics is difficult. Between Surf, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Psychic and ThudnerThunder Wave, Starmie has 5 options for three of its moveslots alongside Recover. Starmie's versatility is amazing for RBY, and the only way to truly stop it is to use Chansey for a long drawn one-on-one that leaves Chansey dead in exchange for Starmie being paralyzed, something most Chansey flee from.</p>

<h1>Tauros</h1>
<p>Tauros is the premier Physical sweeper of RBY. It also acts as a revenge killer. Switching into it always risks paralysis, and a well-played Tauros will stay paralysis-free till the end of the game, where it can take advantage of crippled Pokemon to clean up. By the time it comes out, all Pokemon should have been weakened into the ~50% range, where Tauros can spam Hyper Beam for victory. Unlike Snorlax, Tauros basically needs to have only 3 Pokemon paralyzed: Alakazam, Starmie and Gengar. Paralyzing other Pokemon is a bonus, but having them merely weakened is usually enough for Tauros to sweep.</p>

<h1>Tentacruel</h1>
<p>Tentacruel is not very commonly used in OU, but it can still pose a threat with Swords Dance and Wrap, with Surf/Hydro Pump to take out Rhydon and Golem. Tentacruel needs quite a bit of paralysis support to function, as unlike Dragonite and Moltres, it cannot boost its Speed in any way, and is prey to faster Pokemon.</p>

<h1>Venusaur</h1>
<p>Venusaur is not a very common sight in OU. However, it has access to Sleep Powder, Swords Dance, good Attack, Razor Leaf, and Hyper Beam, which combine for a threatening set. Swords Dance-boosted Hyper Beams are very powerful, and with Razor Leaf, Venusaur can obtain crits to stop Slowbro, Rhydon and Golem in their tracks. With Sleep Powder, Venusaur can put one of its checks to sleep, and proceed to set off a mini-sweep. Switching into Venusaur is very difficult, and it will often necessitate a sacrifice if you are unable to predict perfectly.</p>

<h1>Zapdos</h1>
<p>In later generations, Zapdos is a Special Attacker of considerable repute. However, in RBY, Zapdos is a mixed attacker. It is compeltelycompletely stopped by Golem and Rhydon, but once they are removed, Zapdos can start running through a weakened team much like how Tauros does. However, sitting at 100 base Speed means it is outsped by a few key threats, but they cannot switch in safely due to the risk of Zapdos carrying Thunder Wave. All in all, Zapdos is a very threatening sweeper, and keeping Golem/Rhydon alive until it is eliminated is very important.</p>

<h2>Tauros or Snorlax?</h2>
<p>One of the biggest questions asked by people while building an RBY team is "Do I use Tauros, or do I use Snorlax?". Both Pokemon are Physical sweepers, and the choice comes down to what the rest of your team is.

<p>Tauros is faster, exchanging bulk for speed and potential revenge killing capacities. This also means that Tauros has more to lose from being inflicted with a status condition, and as such must be played conservatively until it gets its chance.</p>

<p>Snorlax on the other hand, being slower, relies upon survivngsurviving hits and striking back. Its high HP means it can potentially make use of Counter to punish opposing Tauros/Snorlax/Seismic Toss Alakazam attempting to blow past it. It also has access to Selfdestruct, meaning that it will keep Chansey out of the field. Its low speed means that it doesn't mind paralysis too much, but also requires more paralysis support than Tauros.</p>

<h2>Common Team</h2>
<p>Every generation has a team that is “bog standard”, and RBY is no exception. Here is a sample team for RBY OU, which is one of the common team archetypes:</p>

Gengar
- Explosion
- Hypnosis
- Mega Drain
- Thunderbolt

<p>Gengar is the lead, and is responsible for putting something to sleep quickly and scouting up the opponent’s team. Against the common leads, this is what it does:</p>

Vs Gengar: Speed tie, comes down to which Gengar gets lucky with the speed tie and Hypnosis’ shaky 60% accuracy. This is followed by a switch to Slowbro.
Vs Exeggutor: Hypnosis, then switch to Chansey, which can take on Exeggutor while at full health, and whittle down its HP with Ice Beam or force a switch.
Vs Jynx: Hypnosis, then go to Chansey to paralyze it when it wakes up
Vs Alakazam: Switch to Chansey to soak up the PsychichPsychic or to get paralyzed, and then force it out with the threat of paralysis.

Alakazam
- Psychic
- Recover
- Reflect
- Thunder Wave

<p>Alakazam is a natural fit on close to every team, and can take on several Pokemon with its high Special and access to Reflect and Thunder Wave. Spreading paralysis is a major part of RBY, and Alakazam is one of the best Pokemon for the job. As a bonus, with Recover, it can go into most one-on-one matchups and come out the victor. The downside is that Alakazam must flee from Pokemon with Thunder Wave until it has done its job of eliminating Physical threats and paralyzing the required Pokemon.</p>

Chansey
- Ice Beam
- Softboiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt

<p>Chansey is obligatory on every RBY team, for the purpose of dealing with Starmie. With its huge bulk, Chansey with its huge bulk can spread paralysis very well, and can stall out a lot of Pokemon. If it gets lucky, it can also freeze one of the Pokemon of an opponent’s teamopponent's Pokemon, which in RBY is as good as KOing it.</p>

Slowbro
- Amnesia
- Psychic
- Rest
- Surf

<p>Commonly dubbed “TobyBro”, Amnesia Slowbro is an additional Psychic and tank on this team. With Amnesia, it can slowly sweep through teams, and as a bonus has an abysmally low critical hit rate of 5.86%. Slowbro can often lure out the opponent’s Tauros or Snorlax, meaning it is possible to go to the designated stop easily.</p>

Golem
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
- Body Slam

<p>Using one of Golem and Rhydon is important in RBY, as they are the best counters to Zapdos. The threat of Explosion makes Golem unpredictable, and Gengar cannot safely switch in because of the risk of Earthquake. Golem is slow, but packs Body Slam for potential paralysis, and has paralysis support from Alakazam and Chansey.</p>

Tauros
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam

<p>Tauros is an excellent revenge killer and lategame sweeper, and once its requirements of sufficient paralysis and opponents weakened into the 40-50% range are satisfied, Tauros can come out and proceed to sweep through a team without any stops.</p>

<h2>Paralyzing</h2>
<p>Paralysis is one of the most important statuses in RBY, and is the most commonly seen. Often, if you have a free turn and are not sure what to do, using a paralysis move is a low-risk option with high rewards. This especially works if none of your opponent's Pokemon have been afflicted with a status condition. Inflicting paralysis is also important for the sake of allowing sweepers to pick apart a team, as fast Pokemon like Gengar and Alakazam can give them problems. Every team should have two to three Pokemon with moves inflicting paralysis.</p>

<h2>Closing Words</h2>
<p>Hopefully this guide has been useful to you. These are merely the basics of RBY however, and there is no better way to go further from here than actually playing the metagame!</p>

I probably missed stuff in there. Remember the inclusive comma. Other than that, nice job!

 

[BKC]

Very interesting, I've always wanted to learn RBY but never knew where to start. Props for doing this!

 

[gene]

<h1>Exeggutor</h1>
<p>Exeggutor is commonly seen as a lead, sporting Sleep Powder, Mega Drain and two of Stun Spore, Double-Edge, Explosion and Psychic. The last two slots lend Exeggutor much of its venom. If it has Stun Spore, it can cripple Physical sweepers trying to scare it out, if it has Double-Edge, Alakazam is not a safe switch-in(though Exeggutor will dislike the recoil), if it has Explosion, Chansey is not safe, and if it has Psychic, it is not safe to stall against it due to Special falls. Once Exeggutor's complete moveset is revealed, you can send in an appropriate check, but unil then, it's a guessing game.</p>

this seems to imply that mega drain is non-negotiable while psychic and explosion are merely optional.

<h1>Lapras</h1>
<p>Lapras is one of the Special attackers of RBY. It has a wide spectrum of neutral coverage, with Surf, Blizzard, Thunderbolt and Psychic. Usually, Lapras run Rest and / or Reflect to take advantage of its usable bulk, and can frighten out paralyzed Pokemon with ease. To round out its movepool, it can use Body Slam for the chance of paralysis, and to make Physically absed Pokemon think twice before switching in.</p>

psychic lapras is terrible, no need to mention it. the set people use is blizzard/thunderbolt/body slam/cray or rest.

<h1>Starmie</h1>
<p>Starmie is one of the biggest Specially based threats in the RBY metagame. Starmie is probably the reason Chansey is neeed on every team, as it has such good neutral coverage to the point that attempting to beat it with other Psychics is difficult. Between Surf, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Psychic and Thudner Wave, Starmie has 5 options for three of its moveslots alongside Recover. Starmie's versatility is amazing for RBY, and the only way to truly stop it is to use Chansey for a long drawn one-on-one that leaves Chansey dead in exchange for Starmie being paralyzed, something most Chansey flee from.</p>

psychic sucks pretty hard

<h1>Tauros</h1>
<p>Tauros is the premier Physical sweeper of RBY. It also acts as a revenge killer. Switching into it always risks paralysis, and a well-played Tauros will stay paralysis-free till the end of the game, where it can take advantage of crippled Pokemon to clean up. By the time it comes out, all Pokemon should have been weakened into the ~50% range, where Tauros can spam Hyper Beam for victory. Unlike Snorlax, Tauros basically needs to have only 3 Pokemon paralyzed: Alakazam, Starmie and Gengar. Paralyzing otehr Pokemon is a bonus, but having them merely weakened is usually enough for Tauros to sweep.</p>

don't advise people to spam hyper beam, as most pokes will probably NOT be in the "~50%" range, also why mention gengar he's terrible

<h2>Tauros or Snorlax?</h2>
<p>One of the biggest questions asked by people while building an RBY team is "Do I use Tauros, or do I use Snorlax?". Both Pokemon are Physical sweepers, and the choice comes down to what the rest of your team is.

<p>Tauros is faster, exchanging bulk for speed and potential revenge killing capacities. This also means that Tauros has more to lose from being inflicted with a status condition, and as such must be played conservatively until it gets its chance.</p>

<p>Snorlax on the other hand, being slower, relies upon survivng hits and striking back. Its high HP means it can potentially make use of Counter to punish opposing Tauros/Snorlax/Seismic Toss Alakazam attempting to blow past it. It also has access to Selfdestruct, meaning that it will keep Chansey out of the field. Its low speed means that it doesn't mind paralysis too much, but also requires more paralysis support than Tauros.</p>

tauros is pretty non-negotiable. i can see how someone would think "tauros or snorlax?" but the correct answer is use both.


also your team has mega drain gengar and psychic slowbro. somethings not right here.

 

[shrapn3l]

Very interesting, I've always wanted to learn RBY but never knew where to start. Props for doing this!

if you're looking for a place to start, this thread is not the place :x

this could use some fixing. listen to the man g80 up there. also mention jolteon, which does a good job of taking on zapdos if you need it to, and also fills the role of an electric mixed sweeper for your team at least as well as zapdos does with its massive ch rate, double kick, and pin missile; and victreebel (which is much more common than venusaur).

 

[ENZ0]

hmm not a RBY pro, but if anyone else deserves a mention its cloyster, and yeah weird sets man try to implement what g80 said. also chansey doesnt lose to starmie -.- unless you get frozen and with 8 PP you have to be The_Chaser. Also slowBR0 doesnt check golem b/c golem can just explode in its face, its faster. and yeah include jolt and even victreebel as shrap said. btw use the standard cloyster set from the analysis imo. GL

 

[Jorgen]

If you're going to bother mentioning Tenta and Moltres, Cloy definitely deserves a mention somewhere; even without Clamp, it's pretty good for its ability to wall Lax and Tauros.

Hypno probably deseves a mention, too. And Jolt as well.

Tauros is definitely pretty much mandatory for all non-gimmicky RBY teams. Snorlax is a staple that often stars alongside Tauros, not in its place. (I wouldn't say Snorlax is "mandatory" like Egg and Tauros are, but he's close).

Gengar isn't terrible, he's just inconsistently useful. Though his low damage output and high damage intake from most things limit his usefulness, he can wall certain things pretty hard, and always has an Explosion (albeit a weak one) to fall back on. However, I almost never see Gengar eating sleep or absorbing Explosions the way he's "supposed" to, mainly because he wakes up against nothing and requires much more prediction than it's really worth to avoid being rendered useless/dead by a non-explosion hit.

Imo, Psychic ain't that great on Starmie, but I've never really tried it. It helps with Gengar, I guess, and Spc. falls can be nice in some situations (most notably against Zam), but is that worth losing Egg coverage? Personally, I find that Starmie in general is a waste of space on a team, but hey, it's one of the stereotypical OUs, so not mentioning it would still be a crime.

Part of Tauros's usefulness is middle-game, too; if you don't have the safer Lax to go to for whatever reason, it can capitalize off Chansey switch-ins and Softboileds, Para'd Zam switch-ins and recovers, basically anything switching in that's physically frail and slower than Tauros, or even the free switch offered by your opponent's kill. And spamming Hyper Beam willy-nilly is generally a terrible idea. If they don't have rhydon/golem to capitalize, they'll likely have something at relatively high health to come in and nail you with Explosion, BS, Psychic, Blizzard, Twave, or what have you.

Also, no way are Gengar and Slowbro "bog standards." They're OU, but on the lower end of it.

 

[Ray Jay]

GP Check 1/2

Additions in Bold
Deletions in Red

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<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>RBY is the oldest generation of Pokemon, also considered the “original” generation by fans. RBY is a generation filled with its own quirks such as critical hit rates, which make playing it an unpredictable experience. For a full list of important differences between RBY and the generations that followed, click here, and for a list of critical hit probabilities for various Pokemon, click here.</p>

<h2>Rules</h2>
Sleep Clause is on.
Freeze Clause is on.
Evasion Clause is on.
OHKO Clause is on.
Species Clause is on.

<h2>The Banned Pokemon</h2>

<h1>Mewtwo</h1>
<p>Mewtwo is a terror in RBY, possessing huge 106/110/90/154/130 stats, backed by a movepool with all the right tools, including Amnesia, which is a huge weapon. With a single Amnesia, Mewtwo reaches 812 Special, and if it gets a second, it can raise it to the limit of 999 Special. Its Psychic typing provides it one of the best STAB in RBY, and with Ice Beam for freeze wars with Chansey and for covering most Psychic types, Mewtwo possesses no surefire stop, and even the best checks often exit crippled.</p>

<h1>Mew</h1>
<p>Mew is a lot calmer than Mewtwo, possessing much less frightening stats. However, to compensate, it learns every single TM and HM, and has stunning versatility. With a set of Swords Dance / Earthquake / Rock Slide / Explosion, it can sweep through a lot of the metagame, but not nearly as well as Mewtwo. However, it is still extremely powerful, and can also go down several other avenues.</p>

<h2>Tradebacks</h2>

<p>Tradebacks in RBY are moves a Pokemon gains by being traded to Pokemon Gold, Silver or Crystal and being taught the moves in those games, and then being traded back. Tradebacks vastly change the metagame, and the newfound access to moves like Ice Punch and other TM moves lead to shifts in the metagame. However, tradebacks are not allowed in standard RBY rules. A more detailed guide to RBY Tradebacks can be found here.</p>

<h2>“Wrapping” Moves</h2>

<p>“Wrapping moves” are one of the most debated topics in RBY. These moves are namely Wrap, Fire Spin, Clamp and Bind. While most of the users of these moves are slow, two Pokemon with access to these moves also have access to Agility, namely Moltres and Dragonite. They can use Agility to outspeed everything in the metagame, and proceed to use Fire Spin or Wrap respectively to prevent the opponent from attacking, all the while doing chip damage. Due to a glitch, “wrapping” moves effectively have infinite PP in RBY, so they can sweep an entire team after an Agility. However, they both possess imperfect accuracy, and so are prone to miss, meaning they are a bit risky.</p>

<h2>Standards</h2>

<h1>Alakazam</h1>
<p>Alakazam is one of the most popular Pokemon in RBY. Three out of its four moves, Psychic, Recover and Thunder Wave are expectable; the fourth slot is what makes players wary of directly switching anything into it. Reflect provides it an additional defense against Physically based Pokemon, Seismic Toss lets it handly Chansey, Slowbro, Exeggutor, Jynx and Reflect Alakazam without getting into long stall wars and Counter allows it to beat Seismic Toss Alakazam and do a lot of damage back from taking Snorlax's or Tauros' Body Slams, and can provide a safe option if you predict them switching out.</p>

<h1>Articuno</h1>
<p>Articuno is not a very popular Pokemon in RBY OU, but it does appear every now and then. Articuno has the strongest Blizzard in the game bar none, and not many Pokemon outside of Chansey will like switching into it repeatedly. With access to Agility to go on the offensive, and Reflect, Rest and Ice Beam for a defensive approach, Articuno is not one-dimensional, and is certainly a threat not to be forgotten while building a team.</p>

<h1>Chansey</h1>
<p>Chansey is the best Special sponge in the game, and can also soak up paralysis very well. Chansey taking on a Special Attacker will inevitably end in a stall war, but the threat of paralysis from Thunder Wave is usually enough to quickly force a switch. It will dislike taking Physical attacks, but in a pinch can use Counter when high on health for netting a surprise KO on Tauros, a major force in the tier. It is also alos the best stop to Starmie, and though in a one-on-one Starmie wins against it, it has to exhaust most of its PP and must take paralysis, a prospect it dislikes.</p>

<h1>Dragonite</h1>
<p>Dragonite is generally used for the purpose of abusing the infamous "AgiliWrap" strategy. This is a somewhat luck-reliant strategy, and as such Dragonite should get adequate paralysis support as a failsafe in case it is unable to use Agility. Using Wrap is often a painfully slow to win, and if it misses at any point of time, Dragonite is probably looking at taking a powerful hit.</p>

<h1>Exeggutor</h1>
<p>Exeggutor is commonly seen as a lead, sporting Sleep Powder, Mega Drain and two of Stun Spore, Double-Edge, Explosion and Psychic. The last two slots lend Exeggutor much of its venom. If it has Stun Spore, it can cripple Physical sweepers trying to scare it out, if it has Double-Edge, Alakazam is not a safe switch-in[space](though Exeggutor will dislike the recoil), if it has Explosion, Chansey is not safe, and if it has Psychic, it is not safe to stall against it due to Special falls. Once Exeggutor's complete moveset is revealed, you can send in an appropriate check, but unil then, it's a guessing game.</p>

<h1>Gengar</h1>
<p>Gengar is one the most common leads and is the fastest user of a Sleep move in the RBY metagame. Gengar is also commonly used to absorb Sleep moves, because its main job outside of the lead role is to absorb Explosions and Selfdestructs. Gengar has Mega Drain, to make Golem and Rhydon think twice before switching into it. Gengar also has an Explosion of its own to threaten Chansey with. Gengar is not entirely good however. Lack of STAB hurts it, and its attacks often lack that extra power needed to grab a KO on a somewhat weakened opponent, and its weakness to Psychic type attacks hurts it.</p>

<h1>Golem</h1>
<p>Golem is one of the two popular Rock/Ground types in RBY, the other being Rhydon. They perform identical roles, being checks to Electric type Pokemon and switch-ins to Hyper Beams from the common Normal-types. Golem's niche is its access to Explosion, which means it is a perpetual threat to anything that might switch into it. Golem must flee at the sight of Exeggutor and Slowbro, who possess 4x super effective STAB attacks to dispatch of it.</p>

<h1>Jynx</h1>
<p>Jynx is another popular lead, sporting Lovely Kiss(which is more accurate than Hypnosis), alongside access to Body Slam, Blizzard and Psychic. With a bit of luck on its side, lead Jynx can catch the opponent on switches with its access to various moves that can induce status conditions, though it will more oftenly lure out Chansey.</p>

<h1>Lapras</h1>
<p>Lapras is one of the Special attackers of RBY. It has a wide spectrum of neutral coverage, with Surf, Blizzard, Thunderbolt and Psychic. Usually, Lapras run Rest and / or Reflect to take advantage of its usable bulk, and can frighten out paralyzed Pokemon with ease. To round out its movepool, it can use Body Slam for the chance of paralysis, and to make Physically absed Pokemon think twice before switching in.</p>

<h1>Moltres</h1>
<p>Moltres is not very common in RBY, and its main use is to use the infamous "AgiliWrap" strategy, only with Fire Spin over Wrap. Moltres is not as good as Dragonite at this, because Fire Spin is less accurate. However, it can still use it well, and should be thought of while building a team.</p>

<h1>Persian</h1>
<p>Persian competes with Tauros for the role of Physical sweeper on teams. Tauros has higher ha shigher Attack, but Persian's advantage lies in its higher Speed speed(and consequently a higher critical hit rate) and Slash. It also can use Screech to hit switch-ins very hard, and can force switches easily with the threat of Hyper Beam. It requires less paralysis support, but lacks the reliability that Tauros has, and cannot break past Gengar.</p>

<h1>Rhydon</h1>
<p>Rhydon is Golem's competitor in every way in RBY, While possessing slightly better stats overall, it does not have Explosion, so it cannot keep your opponent on their toes like Golem can. However, stronger STAB moves mean Rhydon will damage switch-ins more, and will punish mispredictions harsher. Like Golem, Rhydon will flee from Exeggutor and Slowbro and their 4x super effective STABs.</p>

<h1>Slowbro</h1>
<p>Slowbro is a lategame sweeper with access to Amnesia and Rest. It can also go down the support route, with Thunder Wave to cripple the Physical Attackers who commonly switch into it. It also is an exceptional lure for Chansey, and in the hands of a good player with prediction skills, it can be used for chain switches very well. Its STABs provide good coverage, and as such it doesn't need coverage moves for its Amnesia set(dubbed "TobyBro" by fans).</p>

<h1>Snorlax</h1>
<p>Snorlax is one of the two most common Physical sweepers in RBY, the other being Tauros. Snorlax can run 2 main sets, a Physical set or an Amnesia set, though the former is far more popular due to its immediate sweeping power, and having nothing that truly walls it. Snorlax is a universal threat in RBY, and every team must pack Pokemon that will stop it from making much headway into a team.</p>

<h1>Starmie</h1>
<p>Starmie is one of the biggest Specially based threats in the RBY metagame. Starmie is probably the reason Chansey is neeed on every team, as it has such good neutral coverage to the point that attempting to beat it with other Psychics is difficult. Between Surf, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Psychic and Thunder Thudner Wave, Starmie has 5 options for three of its moveslots alongside Recover. Starmie's versatility is amazing for RBY, and the only way to truly stop it is to use Chansey for a long drawn one-on-one that leaves Chansey dead in exchange for Starmie being paralyzed, something most Chansey flee from.</p>

<h1>Tauros</h1>
<p>Tauros is the premier Physical sweeper of RBY. It also acts as a revenge killer. Switching into it always risks paralysis, and a well-played Tauros will stay paralysis-free till the end of the game, where it can take advantage of crippled Pokemon to clean up. By the time it comes out, all Pokemon should have been weakened into the ~50% range, where Tauros can spam Hyper Beam for victory. Unlike Snorlax, Tauros basically needs to have only 3 Pokemon paralyzed: Alakazam, Starmie and Gengar. Paralyzing other otehr Pokemon is a bonus, but having them merely weakened is usually enough for Tauros to sweep.</p>

<h1>Tentacruel</h1>
<p>Tentacruel is not very commonly used in OU, but it can still pose a threat with Swords Dance and Wrap, with Surf/Hydro Pump to take out Rhydon and Golem. Tentacruel needs quite a bit of paralysis support to function, as unlike Dragonite and Moltres, it cannot boost its Speed in any way, and is prey to faster Pokemon.</p>

<h1>Venusaur</h1>
<p>Venusaur is not a very common sight in OU. However, it has access to Sleep Powder, Swords Dance, good Attack, Razor Leaf and Hyper Beam, which combine for a threatening set. Swords Dance boosted Hyper Beams are very powerful, and with Razor Leaf, Venusaur can obtain crits to stop Slowbro, Rhydon and Golem in their tracks. With Sleep Powder, Venusaur can put one of its checks to sleep, and proceed to set off a mini-sweep. Switching into Venusaur is very difficult, and it will often necessitate a sacrifice if you are unable to predict perfectly.</p>

<h1>Zapdos</h1>
<p>In later generations, Zapdos is a Special Attacker of considerable repute. However, in RBY, Zapdos is a mixed attacker. It is compeltely stopped by Golem and Rhydon, but once they are removed, Zapdos can start running through a weakened team much like how Tauros does. However, sitting at 100 base Speed means it is outsped by a few key threats, but they cannot switch in safely due to the risk of Zapdos carrying Thunder Wave. All in all, Zapdos is a very threatening sweeper, and keeping Golem/Rhydon alive until it is eliminated is very important.</p>

<h2>Tauros or Snorlax?</h2>
<p>One of the biggest questions asked by people while building an RBY team is "Do I use Tauros, or do I use Snorlax?". Both Pokemon are Physical sweepers, and the choice comes down to what the rest of your team is.

<p>Tauros is faster, exchanging bulk for speed and potential revenge killing capacities. This also means that Tauros has more to lose from being inflicted with a status condition, and as such must be played conservatively until it gets its chance.</p>

<p>Snorlax on the other hand, being slower, relies upon survivng hits and striking back. Its high HP means it can potentially make use of Counter to punish opposing Tauros/Snorlax/Seismic Toss Alakazam attempting to blow past it. It also has access to Selfdestruct, meaning that it will keep Chansey out of the field. Its low speed means that it doesn't mind paralysis too much, but also requires more paralysis support than Tauros.</p>

<h2>Common Team</h2>
<p>Every generation has a team that is “bog standard”, and RBY is no exception. Here is a sample team for RBY OU, which is one of the common team archetypes:</p>

Gengar
- Explosion
- Hypnosis
- Mega Drain
- Thunderbolt

<p>Gengar is the lead, and is responsible for putting something to sleep quickly and scouting up the opponent’s team. Against the common leads, this is what it does:</p>

Vs Gengar: Speed tie, comes down to which Gengar gets lucky with the speed tie and Hypnosis’ shaky 60% accuracy. This is followed by a switch to Slowbro.
Vs Exeggutor: Hypnosis, then switch to Chansey, which can take on Exeggutor while at full health, and whittle down its HP with Ice Beam or force a switch.
Vs Jynx: Hypnosis, then go to Chansey to paralyze it when it wakes up
Vs Alakazam: Switch to Chansey to soak up the Psychich or to get paralyzed, and then force it out with the threat of paralysis.

Alakazam
- Psychic
- Recover
- Reflect
- Thunder Wave

<p>Alakazam is a natural fit on close to every team, and can take on several Pokemon with its high Special and access to Reflect and Thunder Wave. Spreading paralysis is a major part of RBY, and Alakazam is one of the best Pokemon for the job. As a bonus, with Recover, it can go into most one-on-one matchups and come out the victor. The downside is that Alakazam must flee from Pokemon with Thunder Wave until it has done its job of eliminating Physical threats and paralyzing the required Pokemon.</p>

Chansey
- Ice Beam
- Softboiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt

<p>Chansey is obligatory on every RBY team, for the purpose of dealing with Starmie. Chansey with its huge bulk can spread paralysis very well, and can stall out a lot of Pokemon. If it gets lucky, it can also freeze one of the Pokemon of an opponent’s team, which in RBY is as good as KOing it.</p>

Slowbro
- Amnesia
- Psychic
- Rest
- Surf

<p>Commonly dubbed “TobyBro”, Amnesia Slowbro is an additional Psychic and tank on this team. With Amnesia, it can slowly sweep through teams, and as a bonus has an abysmally low critical hit rate of 5.86%. Slowbro can often lure out the opponent’s Tauros or Snorlax, meaning it is possible to go to the designated stop easily.</p>

Golem
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
- Body Slam

<p>Using one of Golem and Rhydon is important in RBY, as they are the best counters to Zapdos. The threat of Explosion makes Golem unpredictable, and Gengar cannot safely switch in because of the risk of Earthquake. Golem is slow, but packs Body Slam for potential paralysis, and has paralysis support from Alakazam and Chansey.</p>

Tauros
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam

<p>Tauros is an excellent revenge killer and lategame sweeper, and once its requirements of sufficient paralysis and opponents weakened into the 40-50% range are satisfied, Tauros can come out and proceed to sweep through a team without any stops.</p>

<h2>Paralyzing</h2>
<p>Paralysis is one of the most important statuses in RBY, and is the most commonly seen. Often, if you have a free turn and are not sure what to do, using a paralysis move is a low-risk option with high rewards. This especially works if none of your opponent's Pokemon have been afflicted with a status condition. Inflicting paralysis is also important for the sake of allowing sweepers to pick apart a team, as fast Pokemon like Gengar and Alakazam can give them problems. Every team should have two to three Pokemon with moves inflicting paralysis.</p>

<h2>Closing Words</h2>
<p>Hopefully this guide has been useful to you. These are merely the basics of RBY however, and there is no better way to go further from here than actually playing the metagame!<.p>

 

[Destiny Warrior]

Implemented Engineer Pikachu's and Ray Jay's checks.

Implemented what G80 said, except for Mega Drain Gengar. I think that Gengar should use it, because I don't see Gengar using Psychic very well(3 out of the 4 most common leads are themselves Psychics).

I'm adding in Jolteon, Cloyster and Victreebel, working on writing it now. EDIT: Done.

@ENZ0: Recover Starmie after an extremely long stall war will beat it in a 1v1 matchup, but ends up paralyzed and deprived of a good share of PP. This is because Softboiled has only half the PP Recover has.

@Jorgen: What set does Hypno usually run? I'm unfamiliar with it in OU.

Editing Slowbro's and Gengar's entries under the team now.

 

[gene]

psychic > other gengar, and it still hits golem/rhydon. seismic toss is there too for chipping away at eggy.

@ENZ0: Recover Starmie after an extremely long stall war will beat it in a 1v1 matchup, but ends up paralyzed and deprived of a good share of PP. This is because Softboiled has only half the PP Recover has.

starmie will get shitslammed by chansey barring a lame freeze.

 

[macle]

Hey this isn't ready yet so please don't do them / ask for them.

 

[Jorgen]

Hypno's use is as a sleep-absorbing lead that can, itself, threaten sleep. Its standard set is something like Psychic/Twave/Hypnosis/Rest. You could also go with Counter, BSlam, SToss, or Reflect in the TWave/Rest slots (in fact, though Rest is what I'd use, I'm not too certain about it being standard; it might be one of those "alternatives").

 

[shrapn3l]

victreebel would run wrap/stun spore/hyper beam/razor leaf or similar. it could also use sleep powder over stun spore or double-edge over hyper beam. swords dance is kinda worthless.

 

[Destiny Warrior]

@g80: I'll make the changes in that case.

@Jorgen: OK, I'll add in Hypno.

@shrapn3l: Hmmm, alright, making the change.

 

[Mr.E]

hi maclescrub was all like "hey guys where are the good rby players" in #dreamworld so sup

"Generally" considered the original generation by fans? That's an indisputable fact, not something up for debate. Get rid of that whole line or maybe leave just "the original" for flavor. Instead of mentioning the CH thing first, I would probably just name some of the largest differences and then link to the Differences in RBY article, something like this...

Introduction

RBY is the oldest generation of Pokemon, the original. RBY is a generation filled with its own quirks that make playing it an unpredictable experience, such as high critical hit rates and the combined Special stat. For a full list of important differences between RBY and the generations that followed, click here, and for a list of critical hit probabilities for various Pokemon, click here.

Maybe you change the word "unpredictable" to "unusual," mention something else that actually involves probability (like how 100% moves are actually 99.6%), or just stick to mentioning crits... I just thought it'd be nice to highlight the combined Special stat since it and CH rates are basically the two most important differences between RBY and future gens. (Well, that and freeze being permanent.) I'm rambling though, sorry.

Articuno: Not exactly something I'd consider a standard. Aside Chansey, it also gets assed by the Water and Ice-types frequently used (Starmie, Lapras, Slowbro, Jynx, Cloyster) and what does it actually beat? Exeggutor, Golem/Rhydon... short list. :/ And it can't even switch into Rhydon because of Substitute.

Chansey: </p> tag at the end is cut in half.

Exeggutor: Psychic and Explosion are the typical moves used, usually Sleep Powder as the third. Though I personally like Mega Drain in the fourth slot, I think Stun Spore is the more common fourth slot. Double-Edge (even Strength) is usable but virtually never seen in practice.

Gengar: No need to put it down with a statement like, "Gengar is not entirely good however." You're diminishing its status as a bona-fide OU and implying to new players that it's not worth using. It might be worth mentioning that Gengar is more of a utility player than the offensive threat it is in ADV and beyond but don't word it like that. also g80 is more terribler gengar is mighty

Golem: Golem's niche is its access to Explosion... and outspeeding Rhydon, who is otherwise both stronger and bulkier than Golem.

Jolteon: Worth mentioning is that Double Kick also hits Golem/Rhydon super-effectively. It doesn't do nearly enough to beat them 1-on-1 but it's much better chip damage on the switch than Zapdos can do with Drill Peck. ;/

Jynx: Body Slam is only for paralysis, of course. Many Jynx will use Rest so they can PP stall other Psychics, some will forgo Body Slam and simply use multiple Ice moves and troll for freezes.

Lapras: Surf is sometimes used on Starmie for a stronger neutral attack. It's never used on Lapras because it already gets STAB on its Blizzard. G80 already mentioned the standard set but Lapras occasionally uses Sing as well.

Moltres: lol moltres

Rhydon: Period after first sentence.

Slowbro: Tobybro uses Rest, not Psychic. Pretty sure no Slowbro uses any moveset other than Surf/Rest/Amnesia/T-Wave.

Snorlax: Maybe it's just me but I don't think Snorlax is quite a "universal threat." It's good but not that good.

Starmie: Depending on the two attacking moves it carries, there is always at least one other good switch-in. Eggy beats Surf/TBolt handily, other Water-types beat Surf/Blizzard, and many things take it on fine with Blizzard/TBolt. (Blizzard/TBolt is more about beating Eggy and Starmie than anything else. T-Wave is supposed to discourage Tauros and stuff from coming in.) Mega Drain Eggy can beat Starmie regardless, since Mega Drain is a 2HKO (barely) and the life drain will tend to bring it out of 3HKO range from Blizzard.

Tauros: Coverage moves. And Gengar is not really a high priority, other than it can Explode on Tauros. It can't paralyze Tauros in return and it's not going to beat Tauros 1-on-1.

Instead of the lesser two legendary birds, I might mention Sandslash instead. Nobody really uses it but it's decently viable and no more fringe than stuff like Cloyster/Tentacruel, Venusaur/Victreebel, or Dragonite. Sandslash still checks Jolteon and Zapdos, the entire reason Golem/Rhydon are used, but gets Swords Dance and outspeeds Exeggutor.

Similarly, Dodrio is a reasonable borderline option as well. Its Attack and Speed stats are swapped from Tauros (298 Speed, 318 Attack). It's one of the few pokémon that can 2HKO Exeggutor and its Hyper Beam can OHKO Jynx from full health. It's pretty close to Persian in overall power level, the distinction being that Persian outspeeds Tauros and isn't 2HKOed by Starmie's coverage moves.

Other stuff
What G80 said is accurate. "Tauros or Snorlax?" is not a question. Nobody doesn't use Tauros. If anything it's more like "Snorlax or Chansey?" but I don't think it's worth making the distinction. Snorlax is just one of many viable options for a standard team but there's nothing particularly special about it.

"Every generation has a team that is “standard archetype”, and RBY is no exception. Here is a sample team for RBY OU, which is one of the common team archetypes:" Delete that, bro. It sounds weird and RBY's OU isn't big enough to really make a distinction between "archetypes" anyway. I mean there's not really "stall" and "offense" and whatnot.

Tauros and Snorlax aren't switching into Slowbro, unless Snorlax is planning to Selfdestruct on it. ;/

 

[Destiny Warrior]

Implemented almost all the suggestions. I'm removing "Tauros or Snorlax?" entirely, since the section doesn't seem very accurate any more.

The only things I disagree with are removing Articuno and Moltres. Moltres is there because it's one of only two Pokemon with "AgiliWrap"(something I feel deserves just a mention), and Articuno is there because it has the strongest Blizzard in the game, and has the other stats to *use* it effectively, combined with usable bulk.

 

[gene]

articuno is good, keep it

moltres is garbage, not even worth mentioning... especially not by saying "However, it can still use it well, and should be thought of while building a team."

 

[Destiny Warrior]

Removing Moltres as per suggestions.

 

[kingdra22]

<p>With access to Wrap, Victreel can use a Hyper Beam/Wrap/Sleep Powder/Razor Leaf set to decent effect.

Just a quick nitpick - you misspelled Victreebel, as the bolded text above suggests.

 

[Destiny Warrior]

Fixed.

 

[Consumptus]

Not sure why you didn't mention Swords Dance Victreebel. It certainly has an established niche and is better than Swords Dance Venasaur.

Also, Starmie beats Exeggutor with Blizzards unless Eggy gets lucky with double high roll Mega Drains (to drain enough hp to survive 3hko). Of course, Blizzard is 90% accurate so a miss would turn it in favor of Eggy.

I would definitely include Dodrio in the list. Certainly over Tentacruel, who is weak to the omnipresent Earthquake, Thunderbolt, and Psychic. It does have the strongest Hydro Pump, but in RBY that's not saying much.

 

[Destiny Warrior]

I'll add Dodrio to the list.

 

[Consumptus]

Oh! I forgot to mention Counter on Jynx. However, Earthquake => Body Slam still 2HKO's Jynx so you should almost always run that.

Also, your wording with Dodrio is odd. I'm not the person to go to for Grammar though.

 

[RosebloomNixie]

Is it worth noting the anti metagame leads like Ninetales and Dugtrio?

 

[Mekkah]

Why not leave this to someone who has played a lot of RBY, like when it was in the tour? This needs so much fixing just to become up to par...

<p>Every generation has a team that is “standard archetype”, and RBY is no exception. Here is a sample team for RBY OU:</p>

?_? A team that is "standard archetype"? What does that even mean? RBY has very little choices in what to put on a standard team. That is very different from there being some sort of standard team that a lot of people use, e.g. some stall teams in later generations (and apparently some people consider "team superman" in Adv some kind of archetype team when it's nothing more than just one of the many good possible teams consisting of several good Pokémon).

RBY teams are just a sum of things you always use, and things you either use or don't use. Generally for me:

1. You use Tauros, no questions asked.
2. You need something with a sleep move since sleep is so broken. So one of Exeggutor, Jynx, Gengar, etc.
3. You use one of Golem and Rhydon. You don't have to per sé, but between stopping Electrics and having a way to absorb Explosion/Hyper Beam, there's almost no reason not to.
4. And then there's the other bog standards: Alakazam, Chansey, Starmie, Snorlax, and Exeggutor if you didn't use it as your sleeper (using multiple sleepers is a good idea anyway). You might not have space for all of them, but they are all so good for various things. Starmie can feel very uncomfortable to play against if you don't have Chansey, especially if you're also not using Alakazam.