Gen 1 Cywasgu Llygod Mawr (RBY NU)

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.

With the RBY NU Cup coming soon, I want to share a team that I thoroughly enjoyed using during NU Snake Draft II. I most certainly wasn't the best competitor there, but a bunch of people liked my use of Raticate in the tournament, and it's one of my favourite Pokemon to use in the tier, so I may as well talk about it in-depth.

This team was originally not very good. When I was preparing, Ika Ika Musume and pac helped me with optimising the team by compressing the roles I wanted into different Pokemon, as well as just using better things. Eventually, we ended up with a general "goodstuff" core that used Raticate as less of a setup tool for Kingler and more just what it is. It followed a lot of the rationale you see today: Blastoise + Poliwhirl is a very difficult core to counter, Charizard is broken and arguably #1, and Mr. Mime is mandatory. Very simple, very effective.

The at-the-time-final version of this mess performed admirably against Serpi, but unfortunately lost due to an untimely critical hit and iffy move choice I'll go over later. You can see it at play here, at 23:00;
That replay was the result of a ton of scouting on the move choices Serpi made. When preparing for a player seriously, I'll look at what they do in full-HP interactions, as they're usually very consistent and I can just do the opposite of what they'd want. It's nothing extravagant - I'd say it's kind of elementary, actually - but that's what brought me to Counter Poliwhirl, which let me get a gigantic early lead. That critical hit basically defined the game from then on, it was extremely soul-crushing and I still think about it to this day. I did get another swing at the King of RBY NU in the finals but unfortunately couldn't replicate my success.

:raticate:The Team:raticate:
poliwhirl.png

Poliwhirl
Ability: No Ability
- Amnesia
- Hypnosis
- Surf
- Counter
Poliwhirl is a little goober. By using it, you're just saying "I'm going to take everything you love" to your opponent. For a Raticate team, this is exactly what you need, because that's your aim. Anyway, normally, Poliwhirl builds use Psychic to cover Blastoise, which tends to wall it otherwise. However, I used Counter specifically because Serpi likes to lead Charizard and uses Slash to contest Poliwhirl. I personally think it's still fine against Blastoise, as it tends to use Seismic Toss to contest Poliwhirl anyway. Naturally, knowing this exists is enough to stop it, but I think it's quite the bargain anyway given how often it goads players into having to attack it with a Body Slam or something.

charizard.png

Charizard
Ability: No Ability
- Fire Spin
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam​
The Bad Dragon itself. This was the standard set at the time and I personally think it still is now, it's brutally powerful and Fire Spin is still a fine pivoting move. If you're concerned about accuracy while using Poliwhirl, I'm sorry, but you need to stop kidding yourself and accept you're playing the high-roll game. The key to using Fire Spin is to only use it when you actually need to, not when you're being a silly gremlin. Think of it as OU Cloyster. Anyway, a single Swords Dance from Charizard usually ends the game on the spot, its destructive prowess is beyond anything I would call ok, and with Raticate on the team, you're usually getting it with more consistency than ever. Remember that you only need to Swords Dance when you know it's going to work though: Charizard hits just fine without it, and being in neutral Charizard range alone is a death sentence in NU. I like to use this Pokemon conservatively.

raticate.png

Raticate
Ability: No Ability
- Super Fang
- Hyper Beam
- Body Slam
- Thunderbolt Bubble Beam
My Raticate originally used Thunderbolt for Blastoise, which makes sense, as Golem doesn't like a Super Fang. What I didn't realise was how bad the Golem matchup actually gets sometimes for this team, even with the Water-types, and Raticate really needs to run away with the game when it goes off. Don't leave home without this. Anyway, why did I bring Raticate? Frankly, because I wanted to. 50% damage is ridiculous, it's a fine revenge killer on its own, it contests Poliwhirl sweeps, it outruns Mr. Mime, and all it wants is for the opponent to be stupid enough to paralyse instead of hit it. Super Fang -> Hyper Beam KOs most of the tier so it's also kind of a Tauros, but also not really because things actually outrun Raticate (scary) (oh no) (it is going to die)

clefable.png

Clefable
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt Hyper Beam
- Thunder Wave​
Clefable was a certified Ika inclusion and people have since deemed it arguably mandatory (I personally think it's just very good), and it paid off very nicely. The Blastoise matchup is fine and Clefable's Hyper Beam is terrifying, so if you build this yourself, use that over Thunderbolt. This team needed bigger payoffs for a Super Fang landing and Raticate is frankly brutal against Blastoise long-term anyway. The rest of the set is what you'd expect: STAB Body Slam, Blizzard for Golem, Thunder Wave for distributing status.

mrmime.png

Mr. Mime
Ability: No Ability
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave
A mandatory Pokemon in NU, apparently, but sometimes I think it isn't and people are simping too much. That aside, Mr. Mime is the core special offence of the tier and works really well with Raticate, as I can usually take a Mime out without compromising my own at all. Keeping the opponent off Mime is very important given nothing resists Psychic, and it helps in the anti-Water effort as well.

blastoise.png

Blastoise
Ability: No Ability
- Surf
- Body Slam
- Seismic Toss
- Counter​
At the time, Counter Blastoise was cool and new - people were still ResToise truthers - but now it's pretty common from what I've been told. At the time, Blastoise was seen as mandatory, but it seems to just be a "very good" pick a la how I see Clefable these days now? I liked Toxic and Rest at the time myself, but found that a lot of Blastoise mirrors boiled down to Seismic Toss stuff, so I wanted Counter to force a Rest out of an opposing one to find an entry route for Raticate. You don't need to predict the Rest either - all a Raticate needs is a no-damage-no-status guarantee to get going. Together, these two are excellent at keeping the opponent off their staple defensive options and it can be extremely difficult to stop. From what I know, Counter Blastoise is used as a +2 Charizard Hyper Beam contingency plan, which makes just as much sense; it's very flexible.

:raticate:Conclusion:raticate:
poliwhirl.png
charizard.png
raticate.png
clefable.png
mrmime.png
blastoise.png
This team style has a lot of potential. I'm probably going to be using an upgraded version (and probably a lot of other rat teams) in NU Cup in some capacity, as I kind of just play the tier for it anyway. This was a fun trip down memory lane and I hope you enjoy horsing around with what may be one of the most successful teams I've ever made for RBY as a generation.

Here's the importable of the original;
Pokepaste
Poliwhirl
Ability: No Ability
- Amnesia
- Hypnosis
- Surf
- Counter

Charizard
Ability: No Ability
- Fire Spin
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam

Raticate
Ability: No Ability
- Super Fang
- Hyper Beam
- Body Slam
- Bubble Beam

Clefable
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave

Mr. Mime
Ability: No Ability
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave

Blastoise
Ability: No Ability
- Surf
- Body Slam
- Seismic Toss
- Counter
 
poliwhirl.png

Poliwhirl
Ability: No Ability
- Amnesia
- Hypnosis
- Surf
- Counter
Poliwhirl is a little goober. By using it, you're just saying "I'm going to take everything you love" to your opponent. For a Raticate team, this is exactly what you need, because that's your aim. Anyway, normally, Poliwhirl builds use Psychic to cover Blastoise, which tends to wall it otherwise. However, I used Counter specifically because Serpi likes to lead Charizard and uses Slash to contest Poliwhirl. I personally think it's still fine against Blastoise, as it tends to use Seismic Toss to contest Poliwhirl anyway. Naturally, knowing this exists is enough to stop it, but I think it's quite the bargain anyway given how often it goads players into having to attack it with a Body Slam or something.
Why you don't evolve your Poliwhirl? Is Poliwhrath banned of NU?
Very good move pool, I was always afraid of counter moves.
charizard.png

Charizard
Ability: No Ability
- Fire Spin
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam​
The Bad Dragon itself. This was the standard set at the time and I personally think it still is now, it's brutally powerful and Fire Spin is still a fine pivoting move. If you're concerned about accuracy while using Poliwhirl, I'm sorry, but you need to stop kidding yourself and accept you're playing the high-roll game. The key to using Fire Spin is to only use it when you actually need to, not when you're being a silly gremlin. Think of it as OU Cloyster. Anyway, a single Swords Dance from Charizard usually ends the game on the spot, its destructive prowess is beyond anything I would call ok, and with Raticate on the team, you're usually getting it with more consistency than ever. Remember that you only need to Swords Dance when you know it's going to work though: Charizard hits just fine without it, and being in neutral Charizard range alone is a death sentence in NU. I like to use this Pokemon conservatively.
Fire Spin is very broken move in this generation, but just work if you are faster then the enemy. You don't think Flamethrower should be better?


raticate.png

Raticate
Ability: No Ability
- Super Fang
- Hyper Beam
- Body Slam
- Thunderbolt Bubble Beam
My Raticate originally used Thunderbolt for Blastoise, which makes sense, as Golem doesn't like a Super Fang. What I didn't realise was how bad the Golem matchup actually gets sometimes for this team, even with the Water-types, and Raticate really needs to run away with the game when it goes off. Don't leave home without this. Anyway, why did I bring Raticate? Frankly, because I wanted to. 50% damage is ridiculous, it's a fine revenge killer on its own, it contests Poliwhirl sweeps, it outruns Mr. Mime, and all it wants is for the opponent to be stupid enough to paralyse instead of hit it. Super Fang -> Hyper Beam KOs most of the tier so it's also kind of a Tauros, but also not really because things actually outrun Raticate (scary) (oh no) (it is going to die)
3 moves normal? Why that much? I think you can substitue Body Slam for Thunderbolt and cover more types weakness.
blastoise.png

Blastoise
Ability: No Ability
- Surf
- Body Slam
- Seismic Toss
- Counter​
At the time, Counter Blastoise was cool and new - people were still ResToise truthers - but now it's pretty common from what I've been told. At the time, Blastoise was seen as mandatory, but it seems to just be a "very good" pick a la how I see Clefable these days now? I liked Toxic and Rest at the time myself, but found that a lot of Blastoise mirrors boiled down to Seismic Toss stuff, so I wanted Counter to force a Rest out of an opposing one to find an entry route for Raticate. You don't need to predict the Rest either - all a Raticate needs is a no-damage-no-status guarantee to get going. Together, these two are excellent at keeping the opponent off their staple defensive options and it can be extremely difficult to stop. From what I know, Counter Blastoise is used as a +2 Charizard Hyper Beam contingency plan, which makes just as much sense; it's very flexible.
Very good move pool, Counter is always a usefull move set in a bulk pokémon as Blastoise.
 

Sabelette

from the river to the sea
is a Site Content Manageris a Community Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
The fact you dropped tbolt on both Rat and Clef is cracked and I kind of love it. I could never, I would be so scared of Kabutops. Serpi historically used Kabutops a fair bit so it’s extra surprising to see you drop 2 bolts - what’s the solution for it, Sfang + Mime? Or just finding chip anywhere and going +2 zard in its face?
 

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