Gen 1 [RBY OU] Boom

[dsm77773]

Hi, I'm dsm77773, back for my second RMT to celebrate my 100th post!
So this is my current RBY team. There aren't many Gen 1 RMTs out there, because RBY is a very stale meta, and most teams are almost identical, included mine. I called it "Boom", because half of the team can explode on the opponent's face for a nasty surprise...

Some Gen 1 OU information here - hopefully this and my RMT encourage you to play the tier!

Teambuilding process

Not much to be said in here. In RBY, you'll spend short time deciding on the mons you'll run due to how centralized it is. Instead, you'll spend it on the sets said mons are going to run.

The basic formula for RBY teambuilding is Lead / Chansey / Exeggutor / Tauros / Snorlax / Filler. As I'm not the best RBY player out there, I decided to stick to it, so these 4 guys became an automatic adition to the team.

So by this time I decided the team would revolve about a Zapdos sweep. I also chose Gengar as the sleeping lead for three reasons: he is the fastest, Gengar + Exeggutor almost guarantees you a sleep per match, and he looks fucking cool.

The team at a glance

In depth

Gengar
- Hypnosis
- Explosion
- Thunderbolt
- Night Shade
Dedicated lead. Sleep Jynx, Gengar, Hypno or Exeggutor leads, if the lead is Starmie switch to Chansey, if Alakazam switch to Exeggutor. Mid-game, Gengar's role is to take Explosions, just watch out and avoid predictability - for instance, Golem may Earthquake you in the switch instead of exploding. Mid-game and late-game too, Gengar comes on Normal-type attacks or after a kill to explode itself against a threat. Just beware, Gengar's Explosion is pretty weak compared to other common users.
On the set I went Night Shade > Mega Drain because I feel I've got Rhydon and Golem covered enough for Zapdos. Thunderbolt does more damage on non-resists, but still is weak, despite Gengar's ridiculous Special, as it lacks STAB. Gengar is not offensive this generation, it is a support instead.

Chansey
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
Chansey is my answer to pretty much every special attacker in existence. The only special attacker almost close to dangerous to Chansey is the one spamming Psychic for Special drops.
The set is standard, Ice Beam for freezes and scaring Rhydon and Golem, Thunderbolt is additional coverage, and Thunder Wave spreads the deadly paralysis. It also punishes the foe for attempting to break past Chansey.
You just have to watch out for Explosion (especially if it comes from a special attacker, therefore, Chansey is walling it), Tauros or any physical attacker, and Rhydon and Golem (those two only if you're paralyzed). Still, if Tauros can't OHKO (Chansey is over 82% assuming a critical hit Body Slam) paralyze it, effectively neutering the most dangerous Pokémon in this tier.

Exeggutor
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
- Mega Drain
Exeggutor fulfills many useful roles on such a standard team. Some of them are:

• main Psychic and Ground resist
• reliable sleep
• (secondary) Explosion user
• physical attackers' counter somewhat
• emergency stop to dangerous sweepers

On this team, Exeggutor will give you the sleep against Alakazam and mid-game. With Chansey's help, the two can stall Psychic's PP, so Chansey is safe against them, especially if paralyzed. Also it is a good way to put sweepers that got out of hand under control, via Sleep Powder or a way stronger Explosion than that of Gengar. Mega Drain is over Stun Spore to help eliminating Rhydon and Golem, possibly the only surefire counters to Zapdos. Despite being mostly a support, remember that Exeggutor's Psychic is quite strong, so it can apply some offensive pressure too.

Tauros
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
- Blizzard
If physical walls (with recovery) existed in RBY, this would be a stall based meta. Due to the lack of said walls, physical attackers are very threatening (and the meta is offensive). Tauros is possibly the most dangerous Pokémon in Gen 1 OU by far. It has the best offensive typing available of RBY, a very high critical hit ratio, the potential to paralyze any Pokémon it may come in, the ability to beat almost everything 1vs1 if he wants to, and very few counters. Standard Tauros, not much to be said. Reveal it late-game to capitalize on paralyzed Pokémon and sweep. Spam Body Slam, finish with Hyper Beam, Earthquake Gengar, and kill Rhydon and Golem with Blizzard.
There is a golden rule when playing with Tauros: never, EVER let a foe paralyze it. Tauros has the biggest last game impact of the first generation, and its usefulness can go down by a noticeable degree if it gets paralyzed.

Snorlax
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Surf
- Self-Destruct
Snorlax is like Tauros, exchanging its great Speed and critical hit ratio by a monstruous HP that gives it a lot of bulk. Thus, Snorlax is used earlier, by mid-game. It is my main way to kill Chansey, after paralyzing it. Its bulk also allows it to take a critical hit Body Slam from Tauros, followed by a Hyper Beam, so it is an answer to that, but Snorlax usually takes a lot of damage from killing paralyzed mons mid-game. Snorlax, like Tauros, can also beat almost everything 1vs1, Tauros itself included (Snorlax usually switches on Hyper Beam forcing a recharge turn), but unlike him, Snorlax doesn't mind paralysis that much. A paralyzed Snorlax can't capitalize on paralyzed mons, at least not that easily, but paralysis doesn't compromise its bulk.
Set is more standard stuff (as you see there is little room for creativity in RBY, not that it's impossible to build new sets though), with Surf > Earthquake, the most common option, so I can hit Golem and Rhydon a lot harder, and those are common switch-ins to the fat sleeping guy. If they come in Body Slam, Surf OHKOes both. Self-Destruct gets me an extra kill when Snorlax is not useful anymore. Despite being the slowest self-KOing move in the team, it is also the strongest.

Zapdos
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave
- Agility
And last but not least, there's Zapdos. As you probably guessed Zapdos gets totally shut down by Rhydon and Golem, doing 10% max to them. Otherwise, Zapdos is as dangerous as Tauros. Again, as you probably guessed, this is standard. Thunderbolt and Drill Peck are mixed, powerful STABs. Thunder Wave paralyzes Zapdos switch-ins (nope, Rhydon and Golem are not included) and it is part of the reason Zapdos is so threatening. Agility negates paralysis Speed drops due to a glitch, and although you can still fully paralyze, Zapdos does not get ruined by said status. With an Agility boost Zapdos outspeeds everything and spreads destruction with its moves. Zapdos may need some extra support to kill Electric-types (Jolteon specifically) and Chansey, which Zapdos can break through with a critical hit.
Hide Zapdos until Golem or Rhydon is revealed (or it is revealed that they don't have one) and then sweep with it. Clean with Tauros.

How does the team work?
Easy. You should know by this point. Wait until Golem or Rhydon is revealed if they have one. Kill it and let Zapdos do the job. Spreading paralysis mid-game will help Snorlax, Tauros and Zapdos itself slowly break through the opposing team. Gengar is the sleeping lead, Exeggutor is pure support to this plan. Chansey walls every special based threat that can attempt to stop you. Tauros cleans and revenge kills.

Importable

original team

Gengar
- Hypnosis
- Night Shade
- Thunderbolt
- Explosion

Tauros
Ability: Intimidate
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
- Blizzard

Chansey
Ability: Natural Cure
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Soft-Boiled

Snorlax
Ability: Immunity
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Surf
- Self-Destruct

Exeggutor
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Mega Drain
- Explosion

Zapdos
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Agility
- Thunder Wave

current team

Gengar
- Hypnosis
- Night Shade
- Thunderbolt
- Explosion

Tauros
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
- Blizzard

Chansey
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Soft-Boiled

Snorlax
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Surf
- Self-Destruct

Exeggutor
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Rest
- Explosion

Zapdos
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Agility
- Thunder Wave

Conclusion
Despite being so centralized and fairly limited, the original generation is still very fun to play, especially because it is very different from the rest. Over six generations, Pokémon changed and grew, and it is not bad to remember how it started.

Remember to rate this and answer the poll! The main changes I'm considering are Earthquake > Surf on Snorlax and thus, Mega Drain > Night Shade on Gengar.

 

[Jellicent]

I'm going to recommend Earthquake over Hyper Beam on Snorlax. This is not only so Lax has a good move against Gengar, but also because it allows Lax to fish for Counter against opposing Lax and Chansey. Body Slam is its main STAB, Selfdestruct is extremely good as an emergency button, and Surf is important for luring GolDon that stop Zapdos. HBeam is the move you'd probably use the least, and it carries a dangerous drawback anyway if you mispredict.

I don't think lead Gengar is a good fit for this team. Right now, your only Psychic resist is Egg, which is putting a lot of pressure on a Pokemon that has several things to accomplish and no way to heal itself. It's not uncommon to face teams with Egg + Zam + Starm, which could cause you some serious troubles. Even Chansey gets worn down by Psychic-spam thanks to drops, crits, and likely full paralyses. Ice-types are also a threat, especially if Chansey's unlucky enough to get frozen. Cloyster in particular can come in on Lax or Tauros and be an instant threat. Yeah, Zapdos fends it off, but it doesn't want to switch into a Blizzard. I think having a lead that can also help you out mid-game against these sorts of threats would be beneficial.

You have a few options in that regard. Alakazam is great if you're mostly just worried about Psychics, especially since Ice-types can at least be worn down by repeated attacks if they lack Rest. Jynx lacks reliable recovery, but it can't be frozen and scares out other Psychics with the threat of sleep and freeze. I think your best fit, however, would be Starmie. You already have sleep covered with Egg, and Starm offers some always welcome paralysis support. It also has recovery and coverage, which is nifty, and sits at a nice Speed tier just above Tauros (and Gengar, for that matter.) The set I'm recommending:

Starmie
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Recover

Finally, Starmie helps cover GolDon (as does SurfLax), so I don't think Mega Drain is really necessary on Egg. Instead, I'll propose Double-Edge, which allows it to threaten opposing Eggs while also giving it a good attack against Zam. Stun Spore also works in that slot, but with three TWave users (plus two BSlam mons), you probably aren't as worried about more paralysis. Just never use DE against Chansey, as the recoil is brutal.

 

[Bedschibaer]

Standard team is standard, not many huge changes need to be made here.

I'd probably start with removing Mega Drain on Exeggutor, especially since your reasoning for it is to kill off goldon. Realistically neither will stay in on an exeggutor unless its in range of being killed by a rock slide. Psychic 2hkoes the rocks and you really don't have to fear anything big from them. Stun Spore is a fine move to use instead, you could also consider a physical move like Double Edge or Hyper beam, high risk moves but being able to kill off that paralyzed chansey/jynx/zam that's coming in is helpful. More helpful than Mega Drain in my experience.

Surflax + Zapdos is an effective core, even though, as jellicent mentioned, you do get problems with gengar if you don't win the lead matchup. If you reveal surf gengar will just come in for free and chip your team and threaten a boom on exeggutor (problematic if they have a rock because you lose your initial check to it) or chansey (which is the backbone of your team, you really need this for starmie, jolteon, etc). I'd probably go with an alakazam lead for that team because you get useful chip damage on their exeggutor (most likely), which means your opponent will have to send out their rocks if they have one earlier. In case you manage to have an awake zam lategame you also have a decent answer for jolteon, which is always good in a zapdos based team. When using a twave lead in general I personally like one of the pysical moves on exeggutor for the problematic jynx lead matchup, so it won't come in to block your sleep all day, but that's just personal preference.

I actually expected more booms based on the name

 

[Jorgen]

Pretty standard team, changes to it are likely to amount to personal preference moreso than being objectively better. THAT SAID,

Egg's 4th is often inconsequential. Mega Drain is fine, but don't expect to kill Golems and Rhydons with it; it's more for sipping health from Chansey and Zam switch-ins, keeping Starmie honest, and keeping Rhydon and Golem honest when you're at ~50% health. DE isn't all that great for Egg dittos, for a while I preferred Stun Spore because I ran lead Zam, who'd get slept, and then I'd struggle to para the opposing Egg. That said, as of late I've preferred Rest; you don't have to nurse Egg nearly as much, which means you can go for more Sleep Powders early game, switch him into one more Body Slam or Rock Slide than you normally could in the middle game, and still have the health to pose a relevant Explosion threat in the late game. Again though, his 4th is such a minor point, you could run just three moves and still have a good game.

I agree on EQ > Hbeam on Lax. Scouting Counter can be a big deal, and there isn't enough Twave flying around to make Hbeam all that useful imo. Rest might be an option over Self-Destruct, too; this would allow you to switch into Chansey more freely, not to mention that without a lot of Twaves, Lax is going to struggle to get in a position where it can KO Chansey, so the next-best scenario where it outlasts Chansey and shrugs off Twaves is very welcome. Counter is worth considering, too, as Lax is likely to need to muscle past the opposing Lax before it starts seeing Golems and Rhydons, and Counter can give you the edge you need to draw them in.

I think Gengar works fine here. It tends to either Sleep or trade with Jynx, and makes a decent 2nd look to Lapras and Cloyster (and I guess Articuno if you absolutely need to). Egg being the only Psychic resist can be a bit of a bummer, but I don't think it's such a dealbreaker. However, because of this issue, one thing to consider might be Light Screen + Rest on Zapdos so that you can more reliably beat Chanseys and Alakazams in the late-game.

 

[dsm77773]

Thank you all for your replies!
So the general opinion is changing Exeggutor's 4th moveslot and changing Gengar to a non-sleeping lead.
On Exeggutor I agree. I'll test Double-Edge over Mega Drain. I hate the recoil, especially on a mon with no recovery at all, but Exeggutor needs to weaken Hyper Beam's targets before finishing them off, so recharging turns will happen often. I wonder if Rest could work on this slot, so Exeggutor is not that pressured by Psychic-types. EDIT:

Pretty standard team, changes to it are likely to amount to personal preference moreso than being objectively better. THAT SAID,

Egg's 4th is often inconsequential. Mega Drain is fine, but don't expect to kill Golems and Rhydons with it; it's more for sipping health from Chansey and Zam switch-ins, keeping Starmie honest, and keeping Rhydon and Golem honest when you're at ~50% health. DE isn't all that great for Egg dittos, for a while I preferred Stun Spore because I ran lead Zam, who'd get slept, and then I'd struggle to para the opposing Egg. That said, as of late I've preferred Rest; you don't have to nurse Egg nearly as much, which means you can go for more Sleep Powders early game, switch him into one more Body Slam or Rock Slide than you normally could in the middle game, and still have the health to pose a relevant Explosion threat in the late game. Again though, his 4th is such a minor point, you could run just three moves and still have a good game.

I agree on EQ > Hbeam on Lax. Scouting Counter can be a big deal, and there isn't enough Twave flying around to make Hbeam all that useful imo. Rest might be an option over Self-Destruct, too; this would allow you to switch into Chansey more freely, not to mention that without a lot of Twaves, Lax is going to struggle to get in a position where it can KO Chansey, so the next-best scenario where it outlasts Chansey and shrugs off Twaves is very welcome. Counter is worth considering, too, as Lax is likely to need to muscle past the opposing Lax before it starts seeing Golems and Rhydons, and Counter can give you the edge you need to draw them in.

I think Gengar works fine here. It tends to either Sleep or trade with Jynx, and makes a decent 2nd look to Lapras and Cloyster (and I guess Articuno if you absolutely need to). Egg being the only Psychic resist can be a bit of a bummer, but I don't think it's such a dealbreaker. However, because of this issue, one thing to consider might be Light Screen + Rest on Zapdos so that you can more reliably beat Chanseys and Alakazams in the late-game.

Sorry, skipped the Rest part. It'll be the move I'll test first as I like the idea.
However I dislike replacing Gengar, this way I lose the sleep early-game (this isn't that big deal though) but also something to switch into Normal-types, especially since I don't have Golem/Rhydon. I'll test the suggested leads anyway. Same for the rest of the suggestions if I've got time.

I actually expected more booms based on the name

How many booms were you expecting? Following the Lead / Chansey / Exeggutor / Tauros / Snorlax / Filler formula, you get a maximum of four booms, because Chansey and Tauros are not going to explode.
EDIT 2: Added importables. Changes to the team:
Earthquake > Hyper Beam on Snorlax
Rest > Mega Drain on Exeggutor
I'm still considering all your suggestions, if it isn't here, it means I haven't still tested it.
EDIT 3: Eartquake proved useful,
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen1ou-258507388
EDIT 4: Too busy atm to test your suggestions. Don't worry I'll test them anyway but don't expect it to be soon. I'm sorry.