RBY OU RBY Sample Teams

**WORK IN PROGRESS**

Spoiler: What and Why

Smogon has had sample teams for a long time, but I wanted to take it a step further. I believe one of the biggest problems we face in our goal of continuously growing the competitive Pokemon community, especially in old gens, is barrier to entry. There are guys who have been playing these gens for over a decade. How does someone starting from scratch ever catch up? There's so much to learn. It's intimidating. It's overwhelming. Sample teams are great for giving someone a starting point, but just slapping together a copy/paste and handing it to a new player doesn't solve anything. That's more or less the same as handing someone a saddle and the reigns of a horse and telling them to ride. Could just about anyone learn how to do it? Absolutely. Is it something most people would be able to just pick up and do on their own? Absolutely not. It's the same concept here. Explanations and instructions are needed, as new players are not going to understand what they're looking at or why things are the way they are. Likewise, outdated information, even if it was once helpful, is actually detrimental to a player just starting out. This is my way of addressing these problems. I've asked a handful of very high level, experienced, proven tournament players not only to provide some fairly beginner-friendly teams, but also to provide some information about them so a player wanting to pick these up and try them might have a better idea as to what it is they're supposed to be doing. We'll also be reviewing these twice per year and filtering out outdated teams and replacing them with more current ones. Please take advantage of this opportunity to learn from some of the greats of the game and get a jump start on your competitive Pokemon journey!

Standard + Moltres
Marcoasd

Starmie @ (No Item)
- Blizzard
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Recover

Chansey (F) @ (No Item)
- Thunder Wave
- Reflect
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled

Moltres @ (No Item)
- Fire Blast
- Fire Spin
- Hyper Beam
- Agility

Exeggutor (M) @ (No Item)
- Sleep Powder
- Double-Edge
- Psychic
- Explosion

Snorlax (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Amnesia
- Blizzard
- Rest

Tauros (M) @ (No Item)
- Body Slam
- Fire Blast
- Blizzard
- Hyper Beam

Spoiler: About This Team

Moltres is powerful but it is not consistent and as such it is best paired with the most powerful and consistent Pokemon in this generation. Consider running Earthquake over Fire Blast or Blizzard on Tauros depending on what the metagame looks like. Amnesia + Rest Lax is my preference on this team because Reflect + Rest gives too much of an opening for opposing Zapdos, which this team cannot afford. If you're not worried about Zapdos and you just want to be safer against opposing Snorlax and Tauros, consider running Body Slam + Reflect + Self-Destruct + Rest Snorlax instead.

Anti-Meta Victreebel
Ebola

Alakazam
- Psychic
- Recover
- Seismic Toss
- Thunder Wave

Victreebel
- Razor Leaf
- Sleep Powder
- Stun Spore
- Wrap

Chansey
- Reflect
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave

Rhydon
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Substitute

Tauros
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam

Starmie
- Blizzard
- Psychic
- Recover
- Thunder Wave

Spoiler: About This Team

Victreebel is the newest piece to the puzzle of RBY OU, and its main weapon is the infamous Wrap. This team is equipped with two fast T-Wavers, specifically Alakazam & Starmie, which do the leg work for Victreebel to come in and chip your opponent down into range of Tauros and Rhydon. The team lacks Snorlax for mid game damage, but that is where Vic fills in and does its chip damage, then pivots to one of its teammates granting a free switch-in to continue with the assault. Because this team lacks Exeggutor it is a bit weak to opposing Rhydon, but it usually just takes one hit then runs and you're back in control. This team also has its own Rhydon for any Electrics such as Jolteon or Zapdos that may come to try and TWave you back & Chansey for any special mons, which of course also spreads paralysis, and is equipped with Reflect for defense. This team is a strong pick if you want to counter most of the current meta.

Cloyster + Jolteon Utility
Ebola

Starmie
- Blizzard
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave

Cloyster
Ability: none
- Blizzard
- Clamp
- Explosion
- Rest

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

Snorlax
- Body Slam
- Reflect
- Rest
- Self-Destruct

Tauros
- Blizzard
- Body Slam
- Earthquake
- Hyper Beam

Jolteon
- Double Kick
- Rest
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave

Spoiler: About This Team

The key feature of this team is its core defensive utilities, but these defensive utilities also pack a big punch. Take paralysis with Chansey, then put one of its counters to sleep. Then proceed with fishing for a freeze. If your opponent goes to Snorlax, have no fear! Simply switch to your Snorlax, set up Reflect and tank hits. If the opposing Lax is the Ice Beam variety simply switch to Cloyster, and now you can further pursue the freeze game with the opposing Snorlax now safely walled by two mons. If your opponent tries to break this wall with an Electric, have no fear! You're equipped with Jolteon who easily covers that front. Once you have a commanding lead, and if one of these utilities is no longer needed, push your opponent further into a corner by Exploding with Cloyster or Snorlax to take out a couple more opposing Pokemon. At this point the opponent is likely vulnerable and your Tauros or Jolteon can come in and clean things up. Starmie is arguably the best lead in the game right now and is a safe, reliable choice.

Standard Big 4 + Star and Zam
HML am

Starmie
Ability: none
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 2 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
- Recover

Chansey (F)
Ability: none
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 2 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Soft-Boiled

Snorlax
Ability: none
- Reflect
- Body Slam
- Self-Destruct
- Rest

Exeggutor
Ability: none
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
- Stun Spore

Tauros (M)
Ability: none
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
- Blizzard

Alakazam
Ability: none
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 2 Atk
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Seismic Toss
- Recover

Spoiler: About This Team

Starmie with Surf and Thunderbolt is a great lead vs opposing paralysis-inflicting leads as it allows you to play around your opponent going to Chansey on the first turn by simply clicking an attack, so you don't lose your opportunity to instead put Chansey to sleep later. Starmie also matches up reasonably against a Jynx lead.

Chansey has perfect coverage with the standard BoltBeam set and this can be used even more effectively by making aggressive plays, knowing you have the safety net of a secondary special check in the back. Together, Starmie and Chansey can act as double sleep blockers if your opponent is spamming paralysis.

Snorlax has Reflect + Self-Destruct which allows it to function well against any of the three Normals of the Big 4. With Reflect it's used as a temporary Snorlax check with the goal of trying to force it to Rest so that your Psychic types can do damage. Self-Destruct allows it to remove Chansey which can be extremely useful for Starmie and Alakazam. Ideally you would want the opposing Chansey to be paralyzed so that Body Slam can dent their team. There aren't many sturdy Tauros checks but Reflect Snorlax is right up there with the best of them. Sometimes you just have to Self-Destruct on Tauros, which is fine.

Exeggutor is using the standard sleeper set. The Ground resist is necessary because our team lacks a double Water or Ice offensive presence that would otherwise help our Rhydon matchup. It is equipped with Stun Spore to catch Chansey, Starmie and Exeggutor on the switch in. This brings us up to four Pokemon on the team with paralysis-inducing moves not counting Body Slam and this is effective at constantly applying pressure. Ideal targets for Explosion are probably special checks, such as Starmie or Chansey, to enable your Psychics to do their thing.

Tauros is the primary revenge killer of RBY and it is used on every competitive team. You aren't going to be able to sweep every game with Tauros so, failing that, you can do everything you can to set up an Alakazam sweep. This can work in reverse too; sometimes Alakazam gets the necessary damage onto the opposing team and enables Tauros to clean up.

Alakazam fills a lot of gaps for the rest of the team. It acts as a secondary check to several threats. Another Pokemon clicking Psychic against Rest Lax is extremely useful. Alakazam's Speed lets it clean up games very easily after all the conditions have been met for it to do so. It also gives the team a fourth Pokemon with a recovery move which means that you have greater chances of winning stall wars if the game comes to that.