[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Return
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Zen Headbutt / Pursuit
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
ability: Intimidate
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Tauros is reason enough to have a good Normal resist on your team. His Return does a lot of damage and Earthquake allows him to hit a lot of the Rock and Steel-types that resist his STAB attack. Stone Edge will do more damage than Return to most Flying-types, but it still won’t hurt Skarmory. Two critical hits from Stone Edge only have a very slight chance of 2HKOing the metal bird even with the Choice Band held. Pursuit punishes those who switch out on Tauros and is particularly useful against fragile Ghost and Psychic-types, who may switch in to avoid Return and then become trapped. Zen Headbutt does slightly more to Poison-types than Return, but it does allow him to OHKO Gengar, something that Stone Edge will fail to do. It will also allow him to hit Gengar on the switch, something that Pursuit won't.</p>
<p>With the advent of DPPt came the Life Orb, which will allow Tauros to maintain the majority of the power that Choice Band gives him, whilst still allowing him to switch moves. This versatility may well save you in the late game, but if you find the loss of HP undesirable, Choice Band will give Tauros more raw power and will allow him to survive more attacks. Choice Scarf may also be used here to gain a surprise KO on fast sweepers such as Aerodactyl, Weavile and Shaymin-s. On a Choice Scarf set, Adamant will still give you sufficient Speed to beat all the necessary Pokémon, Motor Drive boosted Electivire for example. Pace, Power and Intimidate make this Tauros an excellent choice to lead your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Return
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Salac Berry / Liechi Berry
nature: Jolly / Adamant
ability: Intimidate / Anger Point
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is a fairly generic Substitute and boost berry set, however there are some points that make it more attractive on Tauros than other Pokémon. Intimidate will lower the opponents’ attack, possibly allowing you to buy a free Substitute, subbing down to get your boost and then proceeding to sweep. It can also help keep physical threats in check late game, if Tauros is reduced to death fodder.</p>
<p>Anger Point is a ridiculous ability if your opponant scores a critical hit on Tauros. His Attack will max out making him virtually unstoppable. This is a much more “high risk, high return” option compared to using Intimidate, but if you manage to pull it off it will most likely result in a massacre. This is made much more effective with the Salac Berry, as it will allow Tauros to outspeed many more threats. Using Leftovers will also allow you to make more Substitutes, if you find the critical hit rate too low. Liechi Berry can be used as a backup in case Anger Point doesn’t activate.</p>
<p>It is recommended that you eliminate potential counters before trying to execute this strategy, as with all boost berry strategies, timing is key. If you set this up before eliminating counters you have essentially wasted one spot on your team. Forretress and Skarmory still will not be OHKOd by a +6 Stone Edge. Adamant should be used with the Salac Berry set, as once you have the boost; the extra attack will be very welcome.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Tank
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Earthquake / Return
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
ability: Intimidate
evs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 156 Def / 96 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This defensive set is designed to repeatedly switch into physical threats such as Gyarados, Mamoswine and physical Salamence. With Intimidate, Rest, and Sleep Talk, Tauros can consistently come in and counter these threats. Maximum Attack, Life Orb Gyarados can never 2HKO Tauros unless Sand Stream and either Spikes or Stealth Rock are in play. The same Gyarados on -1 Attack can only 3HKO with Sand Stream, Spikes, or Stealth Rock. Because of Intimidate, you will never be taken out on the turn after the switch into this threat. Tauros will always 2HKO the standard Life Orb Gyarados with Stone Edge. Should Gyarados not be holding Life Orb, the damage that Tauros takes is laughable. Tauros will have a hard time 2HKOing bulky Gyarados with Stone Edge, but this is unimportant unless said Gyarados has Rest.</p>
<p>Rest and Sleep Talk prolong Tauros' life, and the choice of Return or Earthquake is whether you prefer (or need) STAB or the ability to hurt Steel-types. The Speed EVs let you hit 280 Speed, to outspeed Adamant Lucario. If you use Return, out
speeding Lucario is no longer necessary, so the Speed EVs can be moved to attack.</p>
[SET]
name: Sub Endeavor
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Endeavor
move 3: Return
move 4: Payback / Earthquake
item: Salac Berry
ability: Anger Point
nature: Adamant
evs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Using Endeavor, Tauros has the potential to put large holes in its counters. The strategy is simple, set up on something faster than you, so then you get your boost and you are under the protection of your Substitute. Endeavor as they break the sub and then proceed to sweep with your +1 Speed. This set will require precise timing to set up, but when executed properly, has the potential to clean up efficiently in the late game. The last move is quite an important choice to make, Return / Payback is walled by Tyranitar, however if you run Earthquake you will lose the ability to hit Gengar entirely. The choice should be made based on the coverage that the rest of your team provides, and how well you think you have these two specific threats covered. Anger Point is there because your substitutes will draw attacks, and if one of them critical hits you will come out of the exchange with +6 Attack and +1 Speed, a possibly game breaking piece of luck.</p>
<p>The Speed EVs return 319 Speed, which is enough to outspeed Motor Drive boosted Electivire after your Salac boost, and allows you to tie with Neutral Gengar, Espeon, and other Tauros before your boost. The 8 HP EVs also handily give you 293 HP, allowing you to make four Substitutes.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Body Slam can be used (over Return) for paralysis support on the Sleep Talk set as it is bulky enough to carry it off, and Double-Edge can be used for some extra power on the offensive sets. Tauros also gains STAB on Facade so if you switch into a Toxic, or use a Toxic Orb it will become Tauros most powerful attack. Scary Face can also be used to hit things like Gyarados and Salamence on the switch, who may try to come in to Intimidate you. With a Naive nature, Stealth Rock support and Life Orb, Tauros’ Fire Blast will definitely OHKO Forretress and Scizor, and will 2HKO Skarmory with 36 Special Attack EVs invested, assuming they are all using standard EV spreads.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Jolly nature is recommended for both offensive sets, 240 Speed EVs are required to outspeed Infernape, but should you max it out you will also be beating Neutral Weavile and Swellow and you will have at worst a Speed tie with a Timid Gengar. Attack should always be maxed out on offensive sets to ensure that Tauros makes the best use of his base Attack. Tauros was blessed with an unfortunate base HP and therefore needs 32 HP EVs to reach the Magic Life Orb number.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>If used intelligently Tauros can pose a threat both offensively and defensively. The physical attacker and Substitute sets give him massive sweeping potential with a good STAB and reasonable type coverage. The defensive set shows Tauros’ other side, base 95 Defense combined with Intimidate goes a long way, and should be kept in consideration no matter how you are using Tauros.</p>
<p>Tauros does unfortunately have points that make other physical sweepers more desirable. It has no stat boosting move and no priority move. It has a poor base Special Attack, meaning that any attempts to use special moves will probably prove to be futile. All in all Tauros tends to be predictable and easy to deal with by certain common walls, and therefore fails to shine in DP as it once did back in RBY.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Bulky Steel-types are excellent counters to Tauros. Pokémon such as Steelix and Forretress can set up on Tauros with little worry, but are outclassed in this job by Skarmory and Bronzong, who have the advantage of being Immune to Earthquake, and will take pitiful amounts of damage from any of Tauros’ attacks.</p>
<p>Sturdy Ghost-types such as Spiritomb and Dusknoir are immune to Tauros’ STAB attacks and can hit back with Will-o-Wisp, severely damaging his attacking potential. Levitating Ghosts are also especially useful as they are immune to Earthquake. Gengar, Mismagius and Rotom Formes can also burn him, or can counter attack with Focus Blast, Hidden Power Fighting or Will-o-Wisp respectively.</p>
<p>Pokémon with Intimidate fare well against Tauros, although be careful when using Gyarados or Salamence as you will need a significant HP EV investment to survive a Stone Edge after taking Stealth Rock damage. With Life Orb Tauros will never OHKO Standard DDMence, but less bulky versions of Gyarados and the Dragon will need to be careful. Note that Porygon 2 also fits into this category, with Trace mirroring the effect of Intimidate, and recover to heal off damage taken. It can then choose to target Tauros lower Special Defense stat, or cripple it with status. Bulky Grounds, such as Hippowdon and Donphan take little damage from Tauros’ Attacks and will hit back hard with Earthquake, Hippowdon works better in this case as it has a reliable recovery move.</p>
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Return
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Zen Headbutt / Pursuit
item: Choice Band / Life Orb
nature: Jolly
ability: Intimidate
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Tauros is reason enough to have a good Normal resist on your team. His Return does a lot of damage and Earthquake allows him to hit a lot of the Rock and Steel-types that resist his STAB attack. Stone Edge will do more damage than Return to most Flying-types, but it still won’t hurt Skarmory. Two critical hits from Stone Edge only have a very slight chance of 2HKOing the metal bird even with the Choice Band held. Pursuit punishes those who switch out on Tauros and is particularly useful against fragile Ghost and Psychic-types, who may switch in to avoid Return and then become trapped. Zen Headbutt does slightly more to Poison-types than Return, but it does allow him to OHKO Gengar, something that Stone Edge will fail to do. It will also allow him to hit Gengar on the switch, something that Pursuit won't.</p>
<p>With the advent of DPPt came the Life Orb, which will allow Tauros to maintain the majority of the power that Choice Band gives him, whilst still allowing him to switch moves. This versatility may well save you in the late game, but if you find the loss of HP undesirable, Choice Band will give Tauros more raw power and will allow him to survive more attacks. Choice Scarf may also be used here to gain a surprise KO on fast sweepers such as Aerodactyl, Weavile and Shaymin-s. On a Choice Scarf set, Adamant will still give you sufficient Speed to beat all the necessary Pokémon, Motor Drive boosted Electivire for example. Pace, Power and Intimidate make this Tauros an excellent choice to lead your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute
move 1: Return
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers / Salac Berry / Liechi Berry
nature: Jolly / Adamant
ability: Intimidate / Anger Point
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is a fairly generic Substitute and boost berry set, however there are some points that make it more attractive on Tauros than other Pokémon. Intimidate will lower the opponents’ attack, possibly allowing you to buy a free Substitute, subbing down to get your boost and then proceeding to sweep. It can also help keep physical threats in check late game, if Tauros is reduced to death fodder.</p>
<p>Anger Point is a ridiculous ability if your opponant scores a critical hit on Tauros. His Attack will max out making him virtually unstoppable. This is a much more “high risk, high return” option compared to using Intimidate, but if you manage to pull it off it will most likely result in a massacre. This is made much more effective with the Salac Berry, as it will allow Tauros to outspeed many more threats. Using Leftovers will also allow you to make more Substitutes, if you find the critical hit rate too low. Liechi Berry can be used as a backup in case Anger Point doesn’t activate.</p>
<p>It is recommended that you eliminate potential counters before trying to execute this strategy, as with all boost berry strategies, timing is key. If you set this up before eliminating counters you have essentially wasted one spot on your team. Forretress and Skarmory still will not be OHKOd by a +6 Stone Edge. Adamant should be used with the Salac Berry set, as once you have the boost; the extra attack will be very welcome.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Tank
move 1: Stone Edge
move 2: Earthquake / Return
move 3: Rest
move 4: Sleep Talk
item: Leftovers
nature: Impish
ability: Intimidate
evs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 156 Def / 96 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This defensive set is designed to repeatedly switch into physical threats such as Gyarados, Mamoswine and physical Salamence. With Intimidate, Rest, and Sleep Talk, Tauros can consistently come in and counter these threats. Maximum Attack, Life Orb Gyarados can never 2HKO Tauros unless Sand Stream and either Spikes or Stealth Rock are in play. The same Gyarados on -1 Attack can only 3HKO with Sand Stream, Spikes, or Stealth Rock. Because of Intimidate, you will never be taken out on the turn after the switch into this threat. Tauros will always 2HKO the standard Life Orb Gyarados with Stone Edge. Should Gyarados not be holding Life Orb, the damage that Tauros takes is laughable. Tauros will have a hard time 2HKOing bulky Gyarados with Stone Edge, but this is unimportant unless said Gyarados has Rest.</p>
<p>Rest and Sleep Talk prolong Tauros' life, and the choice of Return or Earthquake is whether you prefer (or need) STAB or the ability to hurt Steel-types. The Speed EVs let you hit 280 Speed, to outspeed Adamant Lucario. If you use Return, out
speeding Lucario is no longer necessary, so the Speed EVs can be moved to attack.</p>
[SET]
name: Sub Endeavor
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Endeavor
move 3: Return
move 4: Payback / Earthquake
item: Salac Berry
ability: Anger Point
nature: Adamant
evs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Using Endeavor, Tauros has the potential to put large holes in its counters. The strategy is simple, set up on something faster than you, so then you get your boost and you are under the protection of your Substitute. Endeavor as they break the sub and then proceed to sweep with your +1 Speed. This set will require precise timing to set up, but when executed properly, has the potential to clean up efficiently in the late game. The last move is quite an important choice to make, Return / Payback is walled by Tyranitar, however if you run Earthquake you will lose the ability to hit Gengar entirely. The choice should be made based on the coverage that the rest of your team provides, and how well you think you have these two specific threats covered. Anger Point is there because your substitutes will draw attacks, and if one of them critical hits you will come out of the exchange with +6 Attack and +1 Speed, a possibly game breaking piece of luck.</p>
<p>The Speed EVs return 319 Speed, which is enough to outspeed Motor Drive boosted Electivire after your Salac boost, and allows you to tie with Neutral Gengar, Espeon, and other Tauros before your boost. The 8 HP EVs also handily give you 293 HP, allowing you to make four Substitutes.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Body Slam can be used (over Return) for paralysis support on the Sleep Talk set as it is bulky enough to carry it off, and Double-Edge can be used for some extra power on the offensive sets. Tauros also gains STAB on Facade so if you switch into a Toxic, or use a Toxic Orb it will become Tauros most powerful attack. Scary Face can also be used to hit things like Gyarados and Salamence on the switch, who may try to come in to Intimidate you. With a Naive nature, Stealth Rock support and Life Orb, Tauros’ Fire Blast will definitely OHKO Forretress and Scizor, and will 2HKO Skarmory with 36 Special Attack EVs invested, assuming they are all using standard EV spreads.</p>
[EVs]
<p>Jolly nature is recommended for both offensive sets, 240 Speed EVs are required to outspeed Infernape, but should you max it out you will also be beating Neutral Weavile and Swellow and you will have at worst a Speed tie with a Timid Gengar. Attack should always be maxed out on offensive sets to ensure that Tauros makes the best use of his base Attack. Tauros was blessed with an unfortunate base HP and therefore needs 32 HP EVs to reach the Magic Life Orb number.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>If used intelligently Tauros can pose a threat both offensively and defensively. The physical attacker and Substitute sets give him massive sweeping potential with a good STAB and reasonable type coverage. The defensive set shows Tauros’ other side, base 95 Defense combined with Intimidate goes a long way, and should be kept in consideration no matter how you are using Tauros.</p>
<p>Tauros does unfortunately have points that make other physical sweepers more desirable. It has no stat boosting move and no priority move. It has a poor base Special Attack, meaning that any attempts to use special moves will probably prove to be futile. All in all Tauros tends to be predictable and easy to deal with by certain common walls, and therefore fails to shine in DP as it once did back in RBY.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Bulky Steel-types are excellent counters to Tauros. Pokémon such as Steelix and Forretress can set up on Tauros with little worry, but are outclassed in this job by Skarmory and Bronzong, who have the advantage of being Immune to Earthquake, and will take pitiful amounts of damage from any of Tauros’ attacks.</p>
<p>Sturdy Ghost-types such as Spiritomb and Dusknoir are immune to Tauros’ STAB attacks and can hit back with Will-o-Wisp, severely damaging his attacking potential. Levitating Ghosts are also especially useful as they are immune to Earthquake. Gengar, Mismagius and Rotom Formes can also burn him, or can counter attack with Focus Blast, Hidden Power Fighting or Will-o-Wisp respectively.</p>
<p>Pokémon with Intimidate fare well against Tauros, although be careful when using Gyarados or Salamence as you will need a significant HP EV investment to survive a Stone Edge after taking Stealth Rock damage. With Life Orb Tauros will never OHKO Standard DDMence, but less bulky versions of Gyarados and the Dragon will need to be careful. Note that Porygon 2 also fits into this category, with Trace mirroring the effect of Intimidate, and recover to heal off damage taken. It can then choose to target Tauros lower Special Defense stat, or cripple it with status. Bulky Grounds, such as Hippowdon and Donphan take little damage from Tauros’ Attacks and will hit back hard with Earthquake, Hippowdon works better in this case as it has a reliable recovery move.</p>
