[Overview]
<p>Tauros is the one of the most powerful Pokemon in RBY OU, and by far, the most dangerous one. Normal is the best offensive type in OU, with no real weaknesses (as Fighting-type attacks are almost never seen in OU) and two powerful STAB physical attacks in Body Slam and Hyper Beam. Tauros boasts a great 298 Attack stat and a great Speed stat, which leaves him outrun only by Alakazam, Starmie, Jolteon, and Persian, all of whom are fragile. Moreover, said high Speed stat gives Tauros a critical hit rate of 21.4%, making him even more dangerous. Tauros's defensive stats are also respectable, and, along with his typing and attacking options, allows him to go one-on-one against almost every Pokemon in the game if necessary. This makes Tauros a good Pokemon to fall back on defensively late in the game when none of your other remaining Pokemon stand a chance against a certain threat, such as opposing Tauros, Snorlax, Zapdos, Persian, or Jolteon. Due to the offensive and defensive impact he has, Tauros can potentially clean up injured teams and sometimes turn the tables on lost games with a little luck. However, Tauros should be saved for the end, or only be sent in early to capitalize on weakened or sleeping opponents. All in all, Tauros should be an automatic entry when making a competitive RBY OU team.</p>
[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Blizzard
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is one of the most well-known sets in Pokemon history, or at least it was when RBY was famous. Body Slam is Tauros's main attack; it reaches a nice 127 Base Power after STAB, and packs not only Tauros's critical hit rate of over 20%, but also a 30% chance of paralysis. Hyper Beam is almost twice as powerful, reaching 225 Base Power taking STAB into account, but it should generally be used as a finisher move to avoid the recharge turn. A one-two of Body Slam followed by Hyper Beam can do over 75% to the majority of the RBY metagame, making Tauros able to 2HKO most Pokemon at full health if he scores a critical hit. It is further worth noting that a critical hit Hyper Beam alone can net Tauros OHKOs, so it can also be used as a last-resort move if you have no other choice.</p>
<p>The last two moves provide Tauros with type coverage. Earthquake lets Tauros 2HKO Gengar, who is immune to Normal-type attacks and takes special attacks with ease. It also hits Jolteon for super effective damage. Furthermore, Earthquake is useful for checking Pokemon that use Counter, such as Chansey, while still dealing good damage to her. Lastly, Blizzard allows Tauros to 2HKO Golem and Rhydon, and also hits Exeggutor and Zapdos slightly harder than Body Slam does.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>First of all, if opting for any of the following moves, use them over Earthquake or Blizzard. Golem and Rhydon are generally more important to cover than Gengar; however, dropping Earthquake leaves Tauros completely worthless against Gengar, while if Tauros forgoes Blizzard, he will still be able to 3HKO Golem and Rhydon with Earthquake.</p>
<p>Thunderbolt and Thunder are Tauros's best options against Cloyster, who only takes around 22% from Body Slam. Thunder 2HKOes Cloyster, but Thunderbolt also 2HKOes him after Body Slam. You should only consider this change if partial-trapping moves are allowed though, as Cloyster is otherwise very uncommon. Substitute is an interesting option on Tauros, as a common way to deal with him is to sacrifice a low health or sleeping Pokemon to him, so that something else can switch in without taking a hit. However, getting a Substitute up is not as game-breaking as it might seem, as Substitute does not block status moves such as Thunder Wave and Sleep Powder in RBY, and almost all Pokemon, including Chansey, can break Tauros's Substitutes in one shot.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Tauros is the most dangerous and threatening Pokemon in OU, and there is very little that can counter him. Some Water- or Ice-types, such as Lapras, Slowbro, Articuno, and especially Cloyster, are bulky enough to take a few hits, but they need to be at maximum health or a critical hit Body Slam could put them into the KO range of Hyper Beam. If healthy, Exeggutor and Starmie can try to switch into Tauros and threaten him with paralysis-inducing moves. Exeggutor in particular is decently bulky, while Starmie is one of the few Pokemon able to outspeed Tauros, but it's more fragile and risks being paralyzed by Body Slam. Snorlax makes a semi-reliable Tauros check, as Snorlax can deal good damage to almost anything that switches in, forcing Tauros to stay in. Snorlax can also use Counter to deal upwards of 80% to Tauros, though Hyper Beam will hurt. Zapdos can threaten Tauros with Thunder Wave and STAB Thunderbolt, which will cripple Tauros before going down if forced to stay in, or even if Tauros wins that match-up.</p>
<p>Chansey and Alakazam have no business switching into Tauros, but they can threaten him with Thunder Wave. In fact, despite the high amounts of damage they will take from Body Slam, it is highly recommended they stay in for the Thunder Wave, as a paralyzed Tauros is a lot easier to handle. Alakazam can also outspeed Tauros and hit it hard with STAB Psychic though, so that may be another way to deal with him. Packing Counter on Chansey is another way to deal with Tauros, as she always OHKOs Tauros if she Counters a Body Slam. Like Snorlax, however, countering a Hyper Beam will be tough, as it can possibly OHKO her.Golem, Rhydon, and Gengar can come into a predicted Body Slam; while they are 2HKOed by Blizzard or Earthquake, they might be able to bait a resisted move for a Water-type Pokemon or Exeggutor to switch into.</p>
<p>Since most of Tauros's checks require full health when trying to switch in, sometimes there will be nothing on your team that can take a Body Slam. When playing against Tauros, you should be prepared to let a weakened Pokemon die, as sacrificing the least relevant Pokemon lets you switch in another one safely. In fact, you might find that your own Tauros is the most reliable answer to your opponent's. You have probably kept your Tauros healthy for the late-game as well, and as such, it might happen to be your only Pokemon that stands a chance against the foe's Tauros.</p>
<p>Tauros is the one of the most powerful Pokemon in RBY OU, and by far, the most dangerous one. Normal is the best offensive type in OU, with no real weaknesses (as Fighting-type attacks are almost never seen in OU) and two powerful STAB physical attacks in Body Slam and Hyper Beam. Tauros boasts a great 298 Attack stat and a great Speed stat, which leaves him outrun only by Alakazam, Starmie, Jolteon, and Persian, all of whom are fragile. Moreover, said high Speed stat gives Tauros a critical hit rate of 21.4%, making him even more dangerous. Tauros's defensive stats are also respectable, and, along with his typing and attacking options, allows him to go one-on-one against almost every Pokemon in the game if necessary. This makes Tauros a good Pokemon to fall back on defensively late in the game when none of your other remaining Pokemon stand a chance against a certain threat, such as opposing Tauros, Snorlax, Zapdos, Persian, or Jolteon. Due to the offensive and defensive impact he has, Tauros can potentially clean up injured teams and sometimes turn the tables on lost games with a little luck. However, Tauros should be saved for the end, or only be sent in early to capitalize on weakened or sleeping opponents. All in all, Tauros should be an automatic entry when making a competitive RBY OU team.</p>
[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Blizzard
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is one of the most well-known sets in Pokemon history, or at least it was when RBY was famous. Body Slam is Tauros's main attack; it reaches a nice 127 Base Power after STAB, and packs not only Tauros's critical hit rate of over 20%, but also a 30% chance of paralysis. Hyper Beam is almost twice as powerful, reaching 225 Base Power taking STAB into account, but it should generally be used as a finisher move to avoid the recharge turn. A one-two of Body Slam followed by Hyper Beam can do over 75% to the majority of the RBY metagame, making Tauros able to 2HKO most Pokemon at full health if he scores a critical hit. It is further worth noting that a critical hit Hyper Beam alone can net Tauros OHKOs, so it can also be used as a last-resort move if you have no other choice.</p>
<p>The last two moves provide Tauros with type coverage. Earthquake lets Tauros 2HKO Gengar, who is immune to Normal-type attacks and takes special attacks with ease. It also hits Jolteon for super effective damage. Furthermore, Earthquake is useful for checking Pokemon that use Counter, such as Chansey, while still dealing good damage to her. Lastly, Blizzard allows Tauros to 2HKO Golem and Rhydon, and also hits Exeggutor and Zapdos slightly harder than Body Slam does.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>First of all, if opting for any of the following moves, use them over Earthquake or Blizzard. Golem and Rhydon are generally more important to cover than Gengar; however, dropping Earthquake leaves Tauros completely worthless against Gengar, while if Tauros forgoes Blizzard, he will still be able to 3HKO Golem and Rhydon with Earthquake.</p>
<p>Thunderbolt and Thunder are Tauros's best options against Cloyster, who only takes around 22% from Body Slam. Thunder 2HKOes Cloyster, but Thunderbolt also 2HKOes him after Body Slam. You should only consider this change if partial-trapping moves are allowed though, as Cloyster is otherwise very uncommon. Substitute is an interesting option on Tauros, as a common way to deal with him is to sacrifice a low health or sleeping Pokemon to him, so that something else can switch in without taking a hit. However, getting a Substitute up is not as game-breaking as it might seem, as Substitute does not block status moves such as Thunder Wave and Sleep Powder in RBY, and almost all Pokemon, including Chansey, can break Tauros's Substitutes in one shot.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Tauros is the most dangerous and threatening Pokemon in OU, and there is very little that can counter him. Some Water- or Ice-types, such as Lapras, Slowbro, Articuno, and especially Cloyster, are bulky enough to take a few hits, but they need to be at maximum health or a critical hit Body Slam could put them into the KO range of Hyper Beam. If healthy, Exeggutor and Starmie can try to switch into Tauros and threaten him with paralysis-inducing moves. Exeggutor in particular is decently bulky, while Starmie is one of the few Pokemon able to outspeed Tauros, but it's more fragile and risks being paralyzed by Body Slam. Snorlax makes a semi-reliable Tauros check, as Snorlax can deal good damage to almost anything that switches in, forcing Tauros to stay in. Snorlax can also use Counter to deal upwards of 80% to Tauros, though Hyper Beam will hurt. Zapdos can threaten Tauros with Thunder Wave and STAB Thunderbolt, which will cripple Tauros before going down if forced to stay in, or even if Tauros wins that match-up.</p>
<p>Chansey and Alakazam have no business switching into Tauros, but they can threaten him with Thunder Wave. In fact, despite the high amounts of damage they will take from Body Slam, it is highly recommended they stay in for the Thunder Wave, as a paralyzed Tauros is a lot easier to handle. Alakazam can also outspeed Tauros and hit it hard with STAB Psychic though, so that may be another way to deal with him. Packing Counter on Chansey is another way to deal with Tauros, as she always OHKOs Tauros if she Counters a Body Slam. Like Snorlax, however, countering a Hyper Beam will be tough, as it can possibly OHKO her.Golem, Rhydon, and Gengar can come into a predicted Body Slam; while they are 2HKOed by Blizzard or Earthquake, they might be able to bait a resisted move for a Water-type Pokemon or Exeggutor to switch into.</p>
<p>Since most of Tauros's checks require full health when trying to switch in, sometimes there will be nothing on your team that can take a Body Slam. When playing against Tauros, you should be prepared to let a weakened Pokemon die, as sacrificing the least relevant Pokemon lets you switch in another one safely. In fact, you might find that your own Tauros is the most reliable answer to your opponent's. You have probably kept your Tauros healthy for the late-game as well, and as such, it might happen to be your only Pokemon that stands a chance against the foe's Tauros.</p>