Introduction
So yeah, this is my Gen 1 OU team. I've been using it for about a month, and to my great surprise, using pretty much only my favorite pokemon, it's pretty good! (~1300 ladder ranking, beat standard teams with normals, psychics, RhyGol, etc. about 60% of the time) I know I could probably do a bit better subbing one of the normals, zam, eggy, etc. in but I really like carving out my own little niche', and with only a beginners knowledge my team gelled together very well, with stuff I put in on accident actually defining parts of my strategy. Just a fair warning, I will try to be as thorough as possible, and may over-explain just because these pokemon/sets are not the most common. However, I am always open to feedback, and I'm still working out the kinks, so 2nd, 3rd, 4th, opinions are welcome, and I am open to all but a few suggestions. Thanks in advance for any and all assistance!
Team Breakdown
Tiering (I have to double-check):
E+ C A D+ B+ B+
All DVs/IVs maxed (of course)
Dogmeat
(Arcanine, Anti-Lead/Bulky Mixed Attacker)
Agility | Body Slam | Fire Blast | Substitute
I know I will catch some flak for this, but Arcanine has actually worked fairly well for me. Excepting Gengar and the rare Chansey, it deals super-effective damage, and therefore threatens a 2HKO to all sleep leads, while also outspeeding all but the aforementioned Gengar (worst lead matchup for it, but not too common these days) and Jynx, which it speed ties with. The para-leads are a bit more dicey, however using agility on the opening turn will more often than not cancel out the paralysis as well allowing Arcanine to outspeed the opponent ( some Gen 1 trickery on my part.) Although this sounds (and is) inconsistent, it works better than you'd think, as non-surf Starmie (most carry blizzard instead), Jolteon, and especially Alakazam are wary of both paralysis and crits from BS, which hurts coming from 110 base attack. I'd say it beats standard set Zam about 1/3 of the time, with another 1/2 crippling it with para and low health, and the remainder getting 2 HKOd from either special drops or crits from that dang Alakazam. Sub is just something I threw on there, it gives me 2 free hits if I happen to win the lead matchup with an agility up, which is rare but has almost always lead to a win for me. After the lead matchup, Arcanine doesn't really do much, as it has no relevant resistances (dang Gen 1 neutral to Ice),though it can be nice way to either chip or clean up a Tauros with no other options (30% burn chance is awesome). The reason whys I have Arcanine as my lead are that it functions as a pretty effective anti-lead, I'd much rather save my sleep for mid-game emergencies or late-game cheese, and it is probably my 2nd favorite pokemon. It doesn't contribute a whole lot to the success of the team, but it has a role, and has become part of my pattern for the rest of the match. I'm willing to reconsider the moveset (Sub is very rarely useful), but the only pokemon I'd switch it with is probably Charizard.
K. Dot
(Sandslash, Physically Bulky Sweeper)
Earthquake | Swords Dance | Rock Slide | Hyper Beam
Ok, I am a bit biased here, as this is my favorite pokemon, but believe me when I say Sandslash is the linchpin of this team. Going into this, I expected it to be thoroughly outclassed, and to have to glumly resign myself to effectively wasting a pokemon slot. Instead, it has given this team a unique and dangerous edge, that compliments the team extremely well, and is the most consistent indicator of team success. The plan is to switch Sandslash in safely, and allow it to SD. Now this can be difficult with low special bulk, no normal resist, and mediocre HP, however there are 2 extremely common situations where I know I can get a safe switch and a SD, first is obvious, switching into an electric types electric move and forcing it out, barring the rare Raichu that is immediately walled by Venu anyways. The 2nd, (which Zapdos almost ALWAYS draws) is ideally, a RhyGol's Rock slide (BS is fine if no para, E-Quake is not ideal but still workable.)After the switch, SD and sponge the rock types attack, and usually OHKO the opponent (something like 97% of the time on Golem, and around 67% on Rhydon, however if either eats a Zapdos Drill Peck beforehand it becomes automatic.) Boom, biggest Zapdos impediment gone, and now have a decently fast, very high attack sweeper that threatens nearly every pokemon with a 2HKO, and being able to decimate a variety of switch-ins. Chansey is just barely not OHKOd, but since SS is faster and T-wave immune, it is dead, not being able to heal or set up reflect, while blizzard is the only attack that threatens 70% health SS. Snorlax is the same story as Chansey, except can boom on a lower health SS (full health SS will take like a champ.). Zam 2HKOs, but is usually OHKOd by a boosted Quake, Eggy is usually and surprisingly 2HKOd by E-quake followed by a Hyper beam, Starmie takes about 70%, cannot OHKO (surf comes close), cannot para, and rare Bolt+Psychic variants straight up lose. It can be a monster late game, especially if faster threats are para'd/weakened, and has swept my team to many a victory by eating the aforementioned standards. Thanks to its mono-ground typing, it is only outsped and OHKO'd by rare ice types, meaning most of its switch ins will at least below 40%. The bull often haxes a SS out of a late game sleep with a lucky bliz crit, but the oddball sets lacking blizzard are beat, and a blizzard missing means a dead bull and oftentimes a win. Lack of normal immunity is its biggest disadvantage over the typical RhyGol (explosion too obviously for Golem), but that is compensated with Cloyster as the physical sponge, and Gengar as the normal move switch in. Cloyster also receives nothing from switching into predicted blizzards, boosting their synergy. Oftentimes, SS will remove the only outright threat, and 1-2 annoyances to Zapdos, and allow it sweep, or alternatively can sweep when Zapdos paves the way. This unlikely pairing is the core of my team, and although I'm not winning any tournaments, allows this team to really punch above its tier. SD and E-quake are the only essentials, Rock Slide is to effectively counter the Zapdos and Fire/Flying, and Hyper beam is exclusively to nab the 2HKO on Eggy. At first I had Submission for the chance at a OHKO of chansey, but the low accuracy and nearly 50% recoil was not worth it. I'd love any suggested changes to the moveset, however
the coverage I have seems pretty key. Still, room for substitute would be nice.
Sparky
(Zapdos, Mixed Sweeper and Make-Shift Special Wall)
Thunder Wave | Drill Peck | Thunder | Light Screen
Ah here Sandslash's true utility is realized. Zapdos has a good shot at beating any pokemon outside of the Rock twins, which people often don't realize get wrecked by SS. I think most people are familiar with Zapdos in OU, I prefer Thunder because I like risk/reward (:, T-wave is self explanatory, and drill peck sets it apart from all other special attackers with its power. The only oddity is light screen. This started as just filler, however I quickly realized that it allowed Zapdos to act as a special wall, which is crucial for a team lacking any psychics or normals. It makes the matchup against them much more comfortable, though freeze is always a concern. Highest tiered, 2nd most important, and one of my favorites, this part of my line-up I think I have set pretty well, as Jolteon just would not fit nearly as well here for a variety of reasons, but if anyone thinks it would do well with a moveset change, I'm all ears.
Monsanto
(Venusaur, Bulky Mid-Game Sleeper)
Razor Leaf | Sleep Powder | Leech Seed | Growth
Razor leaf and Sleep powder are self-explanatory, I chose Venusaur because I just don't like Eggy (sorry Egg fans!), and prefer its speed + bulk to Victreebells attack. With Razor leaf, no water or rock type is safe, and matchups with the bull are actually quite even, with a miss usually determining the winner. Razor leaf is nice, but really its big role is to switch into a particularly threatening pokemon, like Amnesia Bro, Reflect Chansey, Wrappers, etc. and put them to sleep, seeding the switch-in and either switching out or chipping the switch until it meets its doom. Venusaur has never single-handedly won me a game like the above pokemon, but it has saved a few from being set up on, and an accurate sleep move late game can be a trump card. Obviously psychics are a no-go, especially fast ones, but otherwise it handles itself pretty well. Leech Seed may seem weak in Gen 1, however if someone opts to leave their slept pokemon in, then the slight health regen it gives to a SS set-up often turns OHKOs to 2HKOs. Also, Leech Seed and toxic is pretty much the only way for me to beat Reflect +soft-boiled Chansey once it has set up. Growth is just filler, obviously not terribly good with Razor Leaf, am looking for suggested fourth moves. I am not dead-set on keeping Venusaur in particular, however as I said its decent speed + bulk are nice, and I would only replace it with another mid-game sleeper. The fact that it also eliminates the rocks if need be is again, nice synergy with Zapdos, while giving another possible electric absorber if SS is out of commission.
Hantre'
(Gengar, Speedy Wild-Card)
Thunderbolt | Toxic | Hypnosis | Explosion
This is definitley the 'mon I have the most apprehension about. On paper, I thought it would be crucial to success: another fast powerful electric attacker, able to status just about anything and boom if need be and take normal attacks for no damage. However, in practice it has been the only party member to underwhelm, often contributes nothing to my team, and even when it does work its role is usually redundant with another party member. A back-up mid/late-game sleeper is good, but hypnosis is too inaccurate and Gengar too frail to rely upon, while no STAB on Thunderbolt hurts its power a lot, only pokemon weak to it are really threatened. Toxic is really only for Reflect Chansey, though with leech seed becomes amazing recovery and will stop it from decimating my team end-game. Even Gengar as a pokemon is only ok, as you can tell from the name, I prefer the pre-evolution. However, I'm not sure what I would put in its place, so please if you have anything to comment, a Gengar revision/replacement would help the most. I was considering either Jolteon for late-game cleaning, more para support for SS, and to continue the role of a speedy, reliable electric attacker, or Starmie for an all-around threat that still packs a nasty T-bolt for other waters, T-wave for fast threats, and recovery for annoyance. Again, for this I am all ears.
Boisterous Oyster
(Cloyster)
Double-Edge | Mimic | Blizzard | Explosion
Last but certainly not least, the clam of the hour. It is probably the most conventional of all my pokemon, only forgoing the allure of a trapping move due to my personal dislike for them. As mentioned above, it is my sponge for physical attacks and Ice moves, can spam blizzard reasonably well, and boom knocks out the otherwise dangerous Zam and Chansey, though full health Starmie surviving rankles me to no end. Mimic is just filler, though mimicking Recover and T-bolt have both won me games before, so I'm keeping it unless someone has a very persuasive argument. I feel like most people know the matchups for Cloyster, as it pertains to this team having a third potential RhyGol killer helps the half that is scared witless of them, while it is my best switch-in to Tauros (except for the rare T-bolt variant, which is usually weak to SS). I think it, funny enough, has too much defensive value for my team to remove right now, but if anyone thinks I could do better, I definitely would consider changing it out.
Conclusion
First and foremost, thank you if you made it so far. I know I typed a lot, but I've really gotten to know this team, and I figured the more thorough the better. But yeah, I set out to make a team that had my favorites, avoided all the big standards (Zam, Eggy, normals, RhyGol), and maybe could surprise people, and my experience on the ladder shows that this team can be pretty competitive too, in addition to all of that. I know it is prone to hax by Psychics and Tauros, but then again what team isnt. It is also cripplingly weak to Ice-types if Cloyster is down, which is unfortunate, but Ice types are pretty rare with all the mons that get Blizzard as a coverage move. On the flip side, it is rife with RhyGol counters, almost always has a sleeper up, and decimates slower teams late-game. As laid out above, I am open to suggestions on how to improve, but I want to keep the general framework. In short, this team is low-tier, high risk, high reward, and an absolute blast to play with, turning a competitive skeptic into a Gen 1 OU addict. Thanks for reading all this, for any feedback, and enjoy battling!!!
