[OVERVIEW]
A cursory glance at Raticate may lead one to quickly disregard it as simply a worse Persian. Indeed, the cat and mouse share many similarities such as a Normal typing and access to Thunderbolt and Bubble Beam to strengthen specific matchups, but Raticate suffers from worse attacking stats and a significantly worse Speed tier. However, Raticate has a distinct niche thanks to its exclusive access to Super Fang. RBY OU is a metagame where KO ranges are a crucial factor for players to keep in mind, as nothing wants to be in range of an enemy Tauros. Super Fang's consistent damage is incredible for getting foes to these KO ranges and is guaranteed to leave a dent in anything that attempts to switch in; most importantly, Super Fang ignores type immunity against Gengar, which is one of Raticate's major strengths over Persian, as it limits the number of times that Gengar can switch in safely. Against frailer or weakened targets, Raticate can also threaten them with a Hyper Beam afterwards to KO; additionally, with its great base 97 Speed, it outpaces many Pokemon in the metagame, such as Jynx, Cloyster, and Articuno, and threatens them with massive damage.
Unfortunately, it's not all cheddar and fruit for this humble rodent. Raticate is incredibly frail, making it difficult to switch in and repeatedly wear down foes. This, combined with Super Fang's 89.5% accuracy and 16 PP, can allow faster foes like Starmie and Alakazam with reliable one-turn recovery moves to stall out Raticate's Super Fangs until it misses or runs out of PP. Raticate isn't just frail, either: its defensive profile is decidedly mediocre, meaning it can't afford to trade blows often and thus often loses a flat one-on-one fight; Super Fang's imperfect accuracy also means that missing an attack will force Raticate to take a potentially fatal blow in return, something it cannot afford. Finally, Raticate's attacking stats are very average, which often prevents it from KOing bulkier foes even after a Super Fang. As a result of these flaws, Raticate is heavily reliant on good prediction to be effective in its role, and as such, it is not recommended for most RBY OU teams because Tauros is normally all that's necessary. Even if a "second Tauros" is desirable, Persian is usually the better choice.
[SET]
name: Biggie Cheese (Super Fang)
move 1: Super Fang
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Body Slam
move 4: Bubble Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Raticate should be used exclusively mid- to late-game when faster foes such as Starmie have been paralyzed or as an emergency Snorlax switch-in. Super Fang is obligatory, as it is Raticate's only notable niche in OU and allows it to consistently deal significant damage; notably, it's able to wear down Snorlax, one of the premier defensive Pokemon in RBY. Hyper Beam is Raticate's strongest follow-up after a Super Fang, KOing non-Reflect Chansey and Alakazam as well as Victreebel most of the time. Body Slam is spammable and allows Raticate to fish for paralysis on common switch-ins like Starmie. It's also useful after Super Fang as a way to fish for paralysis as Alakazam or Starmie uses Recover. Bubble Beam is Raticate's preferred coverage move because it is very likely to KO Rhydon after Super Fang, which is likely to switch in anticipating a Body Slam or Hyper Beam.
While Raticate's first three moves are too important to drop, its last moveslot is more flexible; though, it should be noted that with the exception of Blizzard, replacing Bubble Beam will significantly compromise the Rhydon matchup. Thunderbolt can be used to hit Cloyster, potentially taking it out with a critical hit after a Super Fang. Tail Whip is an option that can be used to reapply the Speed drop from paralysis, allowing a paralyzed Raticate to once again outspeed opposing paralyzed Pokemon while also putting foes in range for Raticate's attacks. Blizzard has a useful freeze chance and is Raticate's strongest option against Gengar and Dragonite, but it has a lower chance to KO Rhydon after a Super Fang than Bubble Beam. Finally, Quick Attack can be used to chip a faster foe such as Tauros before Raticate goes down, but it's very situational and Raticate struggles to find much room for it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MeepBard, 196075]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353]], [Amaranth, 265630]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
A cursory glance at Raticate may lead one to quickly disregard it as simply a worse Persian. Indeed, the cat and mouse share many similarities such as a Normal typing and access to Thunderbolt and Bubble Beam to strengthen specific matchups, but Raticate suffers from worse attacking stats and a significantly worse Speed tier. However, Raticate has a distinct niche thanks to its exclusive access to Super Fang. RBY OU is a metagame where KO ranges are a crucial factor for players to keep in mind, as nothing wants to be in range of an enemy Tauros. Super Fang's consistent damage is incredible for getting foes to these KO ranges and is guaranteed to leave a dent in anything that attempts to switch in; most importantly, Super Fang ignores type immunity against Gengar, which is one of Raticate's major strengths over Persian, as it limits the number of times that Gengar can switch in safely. Against frailer or weakened targets, Raticate can also threaten them with a Hyper Beam afterwards to KO; additionally, with its great base 97 Speed, it outpaces many Pokemon in the metagame, such as Jynx, Cloyster, and Articuno, and threatens them with massive damage.
Unfortunately, it's not all cheddar and fruit for this humble rodent. Raticate is incredibly frail, making it difficult to switch in and repeatedly wear down foes. This, combined with Super Fang's 89.5% accuracy and 16 PP, can allow faster foes like Starmie and Alakazam with reliable one-turn recovery moves to stall out Raticate's Super Fangs until it misses or runs out of PP. Raticate isn't just frail, either: its defensive profile is decidedly mediocre, meaning it can't afford to trade blows often and thus often loses a flat one-on-one fight; Super Fang's imperfect accuracy also means that missing an attack will force Raticate to take a potentially fatal blow in return, something it cannot afford. Finally, Raticate's attacking stats are very average, which often prevents it from KOing bulkier foes even after a Super Fang. As a result of these flaws, Raticate is heavily reliant on good prediction to be effective in its role, and as such, it is not recommended for most RBY OU teams because Tauros is normally all that's necessary. Even if a "second Tauros" is desirable, Persian is usually the better choice.
[SET]
name: Biggie Cheese (Super Fang)
move 1: Super Fang
move 2: Hyper Beam
move 3: Body Slam
move 4: Bubble Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Raticate should be used exclusively mid- to late-game when faster foes such as Starmie have been paralyzed or as an emergency Snorlax switch-in. Super Fang is obligatory, as it is Raticate's only notable niche in OU and allows it to consistently deal significant damage; notably, it's able to wear down Snorlax, one of the premier defensive Pokemon in RBY. Hyper Beam is Raticate's strongest follow-up after a Super Fang, KOing non-Reflect Chansey and Alakazam as well as Victreebel most of the time. Body Slam is spammable and allows Raticate to fish for paralysis on common switch-ins like Starmie. It's also useful after Super Fang as a way to fish for paralysis as Alakazam or Starmie uses Recover. Bubble Beam is Raticate's preferred coverage move because it is very likely to KO Rhydon after Super Fang, which is likely to switch in anticipating a Body Slam or Hyper Beam.
While Raticate's first three moves are too important to drop, its last moveslot is more flexible; though, it should be noted that with the exception of Blizzard, replacing Bubble Beam will significantly compromise the Rhydon matchup. Thunderbolt can be used to hit Cloyster, potentially taking it out with a critical hit after a Super Fang. Tail Whip is an option that can be used to reapply the Speed drop from paralysis, allowing a paralyzed Raticate to once again outspeed opposing paralyzed Pokemon while also putting foes in range for Raticate's attacks. Blizzard has a useful freeze chance and is Raticate's strongest option against Gengar and Dragonite, but it has a lower chance to KO Rhydon after a Super Fang than Bubble Beam. Finally, Quick Attack can be used to chip a faster foe such as Tauros before Raticate goes down, but it's very situational and Raticate struggles to find much room for it.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[MeepBard, 196075]]
- Quality checked by: [[May, 236353]], [Amaranth, 265630]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia, 336073]]
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