Karnivool - Change
Over the years I’ve made a lot of teams for RBY, some of them good, some of them bad. At some point, I realised two things. The first is that I hadn’t done anything to distinguish the good teams from the bad, the second is that I had no idea how to play some of my teams, or why I’d made certain choices when teambuilding. The obvious solution was to create an archive of good teams, that I’d tested thoroughly and knew well how to play. This is accompanied by little notes, explaining how to use the team and why I made certain choices. I’m now going to share all of those teams with you all, as well as a little write-up discussing the team. Most of these are pretty generic. Some of them aren’t. Pretty much every tournament match I play these days I will use either a team from this archive, or one that I am testing for inclusion into the archive.
Is this a good system for organising teams? It has its flaws. Once a team goes into the archive, I seldom make any changes to it. For the most part this isn’t an issue, since we all know RBY’s meta is very stable. The bigger problem lies in my own playstyle. Though I try to switch up my strategies in accordance with the team, I don’t feel this is ultimately the most effective approach- there’s more to your playstyle than simply reading a note and changing everything. Furthermore, the teams you use at any given time shape your playstyle as much as your playstyle shapes your teambuilding. Things will naturally evolve in a certain way, which means that teams that once were potent eventually feel awkward, and you might play in a way that you might not have considered before. Perhaps this kind of adaptability is a skill to be developed, one which I have not mastered yet. Perhaps not, I don’t know. Even though I haven’t documented the time I settled on various teams and therefore can’t make some really cool timeline, it’s still a really interesting thing to think about. The teams you make and the ideas that drive them are like a snapshot in time. Maybe that’s going a little overboard, but I think you know what I mean.
Anyway, teams. You know when I first started writing this I thought I had way more teams in the archive. I was a little disappointed when I only had seven teams to share (really it’s just five, since some of them are the same but with different leads). I guess that’s just a reflection of how long I spend with a given team before adding it to the archive.
Gojira- To Sirius
The old standard. There are two defining characteristics of my strategic approach to this team- spamming the crap out of paralysis and playing Lax and Golem really aggressively. This team tends to crumple if you ease up on the offense. Also Snorlax and Golem provide a measure of redundancy, so there’s even more reason to play aggressively, while also not being afraid to use their booms. BoltBeam Chansey was chosen to have something with which to pressure Bro if it becomes a problem, while Alakazam is the choice for its ability to spread paralysis.
Meshuggah - I Am Colossus
So I got paranoid about people assuming I’d run mono-IB Starmie in the lead slot once, so I just stuck a regular lead Starmie onto the team above. Otherwise it functions similarly to the team above.
Ne Obliviscaris- Forget Not
Hmm this team’s something of a mixed bag. Jynx was chosen for its ability to play for the freeze after sleeping something, but it’s not worth delaying paralysis over- as a general rule of thumb if Jynx gets forced out, it’s time to start spreading paralysis. Information management is key when running Zap because of how matchup dependent it is, you should try to keep it hidden as long as possible or at least until you’re confident your opponent has no Rock or Jolt or anything like that. However, if need be you can bring it in early to break some walls, there’s some flexibility there.
Son of Aurelius- Under a Western Sun
So you’ve probably seen me running that Light Screen Starmie set. I originally included it on an Articuno team (which is below), but got paranoid about the prospect of getting scouted, in which case that Starmie set would give Articuno away immediately. So I just transplanted that Star set onto my existing Zapdos team. The team’s status plan is a bit mixed, as the Star set is designed to play for the freeze, but it’s not something I intend to do for an extended period of time. Basically, try to get the freeze until Star gets forced out, from then on you’re looking for para. Otherwise the team plays identically to the team above.
Opeth- Heir Apparent
This is probably the team that kickstarted my paranoia about getting scouted that I detailed above. At some point I decided to make an Articuno team and this is what I ended up with. It’s very heavily freeze oriented. Having said that, no team should ever dedicate itself solely to freezing something imo, so I’ll aim to get off sleep if possible, and that’s a good indicator that it’s time to start spreading para. Anyhow, Articuno is strictly a sweeper and is best kept for late in the game. It helps that there are very clear requirements for an Articuno sweep- special sponges and waters dead, faster Tbolt users paralysed. Cover those and you’re pretty much good to go.
Devin Townsend Project- Juular
I used to really enjoy using Persian in RBY. It skews your team such that it’s incredibly endgame heavy, which in turn forces you to play really recklessly, which I used to enjoy. Possibly the biggest tangible use of Persian is as a Tauros surrogate in the ditto, since it creates a lose-lose situation for the opponent unless they have a Gengar. Anyway, back to the team, don’t be afraid of blowing up on opposing physical walls, you’re not obtaining general advantages but accomplishing certain goals in preparation for a sweep. Hypno was chosen because it has a decent chance of straight up murdering Gengar rather than merely forcing it out, as well as spreading para (iirc it was a post by Lutra that made me think of this).
Pryapisme- Darkness Lobotomy Insurrection
I really like this team. Why? Look at it! How stupid is it? It doesn’t make sense, but it somehow works. The idea for this team arose while creating my other Articuno team, as I found myself increasingly drawn to Explosion as a means of preparing for an Articuno sweep. At the same time, theorymon painted an intriguing picture of a Jolteon-Articuno lategame core, but how to fit them onto a team? So I just smashed those two ideas together and this was the result. The premise is to spam the crap out of explosion and just trust that between Jolteon, Articuno and Tauros I have enough firepower to win the ensuing endgame. And I really mean abuse explosion, because if you’re not bringing the aggression on that front, this team’s flaws will be exposed. A few notes on teambuilding choices- SurfLax is necessary because otherwise Water-Rock cores are a nightmare, while Gengar is necessary to anti-lead Jynx, as the team is a little short on Blizzard switchins lol.
OK I was going to leave it at the teams in my archive, but between the small number of them and the repetition in some of them, I’ve decided to dump the teams I’m testing as well. This will probably screw me over in the short term, since I’m strongly inclined to use these teams, but oh well I don’t mind.
Mastodon- The Wolf is Loose
Again, a team built out of paranoia of being scouted. I wanted to build a team with Alakazam as a lead, with the non-big 4 member of the team being a special sweeper that appreciates Zam’s ability to spread para early on and potentially chip Egg. I decided to run Jolt here since although Egg’s not a great check, it’s still fairly annoying, though I guess Bro is also an option. Anyhow, the team is designed to get the maximum possible mileage out of Alakazam, particularly when it comes to blocking status, so don’t be afraid to go for the wake or block sleep with it. When I inevitably get caught out leaving Zam in, Lax and Chansey are both designed to take on opposing physical attackers.
In Vain- Hymne til Havet
Again, I wanted another team with Jynx as a lead for anti-scouting purposes and I happened to have this team which I thought was alright so here it is. Premise is for Jynx and Chansey to spam Ice moves and force an early freeze, which will hopefully open things up for Tauros or Starmie to sweep. Main targets here are Lax and Chansey, so ideally keep them free of para. This strategy changes if the opponent reveals an Ice type, at which point I’ll have to start spreading paralysis because otherwise I’ve got no offensive openings. Lastly, opponents trying to wake is an issue for this team, so it should ALWAYS be punished with a Tauros switch.
Haken- The Architect
Again, more paranoia about distinctive leads. I wanted a special attacker that benefitted from Hypno’s ability to sleep and then para and maybe chip, and I decided Reflect Zam fit the bill, which now that I think on it is a questionable conclusion since Hypno lures out Lax rather than Psychic types. Oh well, everything benefits from a weakened Lax so it still works. Anyhow, rather than building around a dedicated secondary sweeper, Zam is intended to be used interchangeably as either a secondary sweeper or a midgame wall, with Starmie covering annoying stuff like Bro. I’m actually a little unclear on the overall strategy, especially when it comes to Starmie and Zam taking para. Looks like I need to test it more!
Elysian- A Cry from the Helpless
Same paranoia about leads. I wanted a team with Gengar as a lead, and I had this team handy which I decided was good so here we are. It’s ironic given how much I talk shit about Rhydon, but this may actually be my best team out of the ones that I’m testing. The premise is for Egg, Chansey and Bro to spread heavy paralysis in order to support Rhydon. It also helps that Bro is easily the most threatening Water type in the game, which means it’s good at baiting Electric type attacks for Rhydon. I don’t have such a clearly defined strategy for this team otherwise, but it’s got very strong emergent play imo, so that’s cool.
Anyway, if you battle me anytime in the near future, I will almost definitely be using one of these teams. Hopefully you like these teams.
Shoutouts to all the regulars that keep this place ticking, we’ve got a good thing growing here and I believe it’ll only get better. In particular, DA for doing like a ton of things here, and atm doing them a lot better than me. Also marcoasd, one day I will beat you!!! idk what else to say, I'm not very good at 1k posts? tbh I think it's just that I'm a bit of a distant person maybe
Over the years I’ve made a lot of teams for RBY, some of them good, some of them bad. At some point, I realised two things. The first is that I hadn’t done anything to distinguish the good teams from the bad, the second is that I had no idea how to play some of my teams, or why I’d made certain choices when teambuilding. The obvious solution was to create an archive of good teams, that I’d tested thoroughly and knew well how to play. This is accompanied by little notes, explaining how to use the team and why I made certain choices. I’m now going to share all of those teams with you all, as well as a little write-up discussing the team. Most of these are pretty generic. Some of them aren’t. Pretty much every tournament match I play these days I will use either a team from this archive, or one that I am testing for inclusion into the archive.
Is this a good system for organising teams? It has its flaws. Once a team goes into the archive, I seldom make any changes to it. For the most part this isn’t an issue, since we all know RBY’s meta is very stable. The bigger problem lies in my own playstyle. Though I try to switch up my strategies in accordance with the team, I don’t feel this is ultimately the most effective approach- there’s more to your playstyle than simply reading a note and changing everything. Furthermore, the teams you use at any given time shape your playstyle as much as your playstyle shapes your teambuilding. Things will naturally evolve in a certain way, which means that teams that once were potent eventually feel awkward, and you might play in a way that you might not have considered before. Perhaps this kind of adaptability is a skill to be developed, one which I have not mastered yet. Perhaps not, I don’t know. Even though I haven’t documented the time I settled on various teams and therefore can’t make some really cool timeline, it’s still a really interesting thing to think about. The teams you make and the ideas that drive them are like a snapshot in time. Maybe that’s going a little overboard, but I think you know what I mean.
Anyway, teams. You know when I first started writing this I thought I had way more teams in the archive. I was a little disappointed when I only had seven teams to share (really it’s just five, since some of them are the same but with different leads). I guess that’s just a reflection of how long I spend with a given team before adding it to the archive.
Gojira- To Sirius
Alakazam (M) @ (No Item)
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Recover
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Golem (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Body Slam
- Explosion
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Recover
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Golem (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Body Slam
- Explosion
Meshuggah - I Am Colossus
Starmie @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Golem (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Body Slam
- Explosion
- Blizzard
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Golem (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Body Slam
- Explosion
Ne Obliviscaris- Forget Not
Jynx (F) @ (No Item)
- Lovely Kiss
- Blizzard
- Psychic
- Rest
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
- Self-Destruct
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Zapdos @ (No Item)
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder
- Lovely Kiss
- Blizzard
- Psychic
- Rest
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
- Self-Destruct
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Zapdos @ (No Item)
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder
Hmm this team’s something of a mixed bag. Jynx was chosen for its ability to play for the freeze after sleeping something, but it’s not worth delaying paralysis over- as a general rule of thumb if Jynx gets forced out, it’s time to start spreading paralysis. Information management is key when running Zap because of how matchup dependent it is, you should try to keep it hidden as long as possible or at least until you’re confident your opponent has no Rock or Jolt or anything like that. However, if need be you can bring it in early to break some walls, there’s some flexibility there.
Son of Aurelius- Under a Western Sun
Starmie @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Light Screen
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
- Self-Destruct
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Zapdos @ (No Item)
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Light Screen
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
- Self-Destruct
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Zapdos @ (No Item)
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder
So you’ve probably seen me running that Light Screen Starmie set. I originally included it on an Articuno team (which is below), but got paranoid about the prospect of getting scouted, in which case that Starmie set would give Articuno away immediately. So I just transplanted that Star set onto my existing Zapdos team. The team’s status plan is a bit mixed, as the Star set is designed to play for the freeze, but it’s not something I intend to do for an extended period of time. Basically, try to get the freeze until Star gets forced out, from then on you’re looking for para. Otherwise the team plays identically to the team above.
Opeth- Heir Apparent
Starmie @ (No Item)
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Light Screen
- Ice Beam
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Explosion
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Sleep Powder
Golem (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Articuno @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Hyper Beam
- Double-Edge
- Substitute
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Light Screen
- Ice Beam
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Explosion
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Sleep Powder
Golem (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Articuno @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Hyper Beam
- Double-Edge
- Substitute
This is probably the team that kickstarted my paranoia about getting scouted that I detailed above. At some point I decided to make an Articuno team and this is what I ended up with. It’s very heavily freeze oriented. Having said that, no team should ever dedicate itself solely to freezing something imo, so I’ll aim to get off sleep if possible, and that’s a good indicator that it’s time to start spreading para. Anyhow, Articuno is strictly a sweeper and is best kept for late in the game. It helps that there are very clear requirements for an Articuno sweep- special sponges and waters dead, faster Tbolt users paralysed. Cover those and you’re pretty much good to go.
Devin Townsend Project- Juular
Hypno (M) @ (No Item)
- Hypnosis
- Psychic
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Persian (M) @ (No Item)
- Bubble Beam
- Hyper Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Slash
- Hypnosis
- Psychic
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Persian (M) @ (No Item)
- Bubble Beam
- Hyper Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Slash
I used to really enjoy using Persian in RBY. It skews your team such that it’s incredibly endgame heavy, which in turn forces you to play really recklessly, which I used to enjoy. Possibly the biggest tangible use of Persian is as a Tauros surrogate in the ditto, since it creates a lose-lose situation for the opponent unless they have a Gengar. Anyway, back to the team, don’t be afraid of blowing up on opposing physical walls, you’re not obtaining general advantages but accomplishing certain goals in preparation for a sweep. Hypno was chosen because it has a decent chance of straight up murdering Gengar rather than merely forcing it out, as well as spreading para (iirc it was a post by Lutra that made me think of this).
Pryapisme- Darkness Lobotomy Insurrection
Gengar (M) @ (No Item)
- Thunderbolt
- Night Shade
- Explosion
- Hypnosis
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Self-Destruct
Jolteon (M) @ (No Item)
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Double Kick
- Pin Missile
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Articuno @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Beam
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
- Night Shade
- Explosion
- Hypnosis
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Self-Destruct
Jolteon (M) @ (No Item)
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Double Kick
- Pin Missile
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Articuno @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Beam
- Substitute
I really like this team. Why? Look at it! How stupid is it? It doesn’t make sense, but it somehow works. The idea for this team arose while creating my other Articuno team, as I found myself increasingly drawn to Explosion as a means of preparing for an Articuno sweep. At the same time, theorymon painted an intriguing picture of a Jolteon-Articuno lategame core, but how to fit them onto a team? So I just smashed those two ideas together and this was the result. The premise is to spam the crap out of explosion and just trust that between Jolteon, Articuno and Tauros I have enough firepower to win the ensuing endgame. And I really mean abuse explosion, because if you’re not bringing the aggression on that front, this team’s flaws will be exposed. A few notes on teambuilding choices- SurfLax is necessary because otherwise Water-Rock cores are a nightmare, while Gengar is necessary to anti-lead Jynx, as the team is a little short on Blizzard switchins lol.
OK I was going to leave it at the teams in my archive, but between the small number of them and the repetition in some of them, I’ve decided to dump the teams I’m testing as well. This will probably screw me over in the short term, since I’m strongly inclined to use these teams, but oh well I don’t mind.
Mastodon- The Wolf is Loose
Alakazam (M) @ (No Item)
- Psychic
- Recover
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Hyper Beam
- Psychic
- Explosion
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Counter
- Self-Destruct
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Reflect
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Jolteon (M) @ (No Item)
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Double Kick
- Pin Missile
- Psychic
- Recover
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Hyper Beam
- Psychic
- Explosion
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Counter
- Self-Destruct
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Reflect
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Jolteon (M) @ (No Item)
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Double Kick
- Pin Missile
Again, a team built out of paranoia of being scouted. I wanted to build a team with Alakazam as a lead, with the non-big 4 member of the team being a special sweeper that appreciates Zam’s ability to spread para early on and potentially chip Egg. I decided to run Jolt here since although Egg’s not a great check, it’s still fairly annoying, though I guess Bro is also an option. Anyhow, the team is designed to get the maximum possible mileage out of Alakazam, particularly when it comes to blocking status, so don’t be afraid to go for the wake or block sleep with it. When I inevitably get caught out leaving Zam in, Lax and Chansey are both designed to take on opposing physical attackers.
In Vain- Hymne til Havet
Jynx (F) @ (No Item)
- Lovely Kiss
- Blizzard
- Psychic
- Rest
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
- Self-Destruct
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Starmie @ (No Item)
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
- Lovely Kiss
- Blizzard
- Psychic
- Rest
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
- Self-Destruct
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Starmie @ (No Item)
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
Again, I wanted another team with Jynx as a lead for anti-scouting purposes and I happened to have this team which I thought was alright so here it is. Premise is for Jynx and Chansey to spam Ice moves and force an early freeze, which will hopefully open things up for Tauros or Starmie to sweep. Main targets here are Lax and Chansey, so ideally keep them free of para. This strategy changes if the opponent reveals an Ice type, at which point I’ll have to start spreading paralysis because otherwise I’ve got no offensive openings. Lastly, opponents trying to wake is an issue for this team, so it should ALWAYS be punished with a Tauros switch.
Haken- The Architect
Hypno (M) @ (No Item)
- Hypnosis
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Seismic Toss
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
Starmie @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Alakazam (M) @ (No Item)
- Psychic
- Recover
- Reflect
- Thunder Wave
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
- Hypnosis
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Seismic Toss
Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Self-Destruct
- Hyper Beam
Starmie @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Recover
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Stun Spore
- Explosion
Alakazam (M) @ (No Item)
- Psychic
- Recover
- Reflect
- Thunder Wave
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Again, more paranoia about distinctive leads. I wanted a special attacker that benefitted from Hypno’s ability to sleep and then para and maybe chip, and I decided Reflect Zam fit the bill, which now that I think on it is a questionable conclusion since Hypno lures out Lax rather than Psychic types. Oh well, everything benefits from a weakened Lax so it still works. Anyhow, rather than building around a dedicated secondary sweeper, Zam is intended to be used interchangeably as either a secondary sweeper or a midgame wall, with Starmie covering annoying stuff like Bro. I’m actually a little unclear on the overall strategy, especially when it comes to Starmie and Zam taking para. Looks like I need to test it more!
Elysian- A Cry from the Helpless
Gengar (M) @ (No Item)
- Hypnosis
- Explosion
- Thunderbolt
- Night Shade
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Rhydon (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
Slowbro (M) @ (No Item)
- Amnesia
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Rest
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
- Hypnosis
- Explosion
- Thunderbolt
- Night Shade
Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Psychic
- Explosion
Rhydon (M) @ (No Item)
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Rock Slide
- Substitute
Slowbro (M) @ (No Item)
- Amnesia
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Rest
Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam
Same paranoia about leads. I wanted a team with Gengar as a lead, and I had this team handy which I decided was good so here we are. It’s ironic given how much I talk shit about Rhydon, but this may actually be my best team out of the ones that I’m testing. The premise is for Egg, Chansey and Bro to spread heavy paralysis in order to support Rhydon. It also helps that Bro is easily the most threatening Water type in the game, which means it’s good at baiting Electric type attacks for Rhydon. I don’t have such a clearly defined strategy for this team otherwise, but it’s got very strong emergent play imo, so that’s cool.
Anyway, if you battle me anytime in the near future, I will almost definitely be using one of these teams. Hopefully you like these teams.
Shoutouts to all the regulars that keep this place ticking, we’ve got a good thing growing here and I believe it’ll only get better. In particular, DA for doing like a ton of things here, and atm doing them a lot better than me. Also marcoasd, one day I will beat you!!! idk what else to say, I'm not very good at 1k posts? tbh I think it's just that I'm a bit of a distant person maybe
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