Kanto Classic Tournament Discussion

[Richard and Blaziken]

So after talking to Tim about the upcoming Gen 6 battle tournament, we began discussing what we thought would be common threats in this metagame. So if you didn't know, here's what this tournament's rules are:

-Only Pokemon listed from 001-149 are eligible for use
-No items may be held by any Pokemon
-Singles Battles, 6v6

All entrants get a Dragonite that knows Barrier, a move that, to this point, only Lance has managed to hack onto Dragonite.

So with that out of the way, here's what I think will be threats to watch out for:



Clefable is undeniably the best Fairy type this metagame has to offer. It is the only Pokemon in the metagame to get Unaware, making it a full stop to most setup sweepers, most notably Dragon Dance Dragonite. I've been running Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Moonlight, and Stealth Rock on it, but there's a lot it can do.



This is the main reason Clefable is necessary on every team. One Shell Smash is basically a win condition most of the time. If you can find a way to remove the opposing Clefable and Thick Fat Snorlax, Cloyster just needs a single turn to Shell Smash, then sweep with Icicle Spear, Rock Blast and Hydro Pump/Ice Shard.



Unlike R/B/Y, Machamp actually has usable Fighting type attacks now, and Machamp could see a fair bit of use this time around. Chansey's going to be popular as a special sponge, and Machamp can put pressure on her immediately. It can even go the Guts route with RestTalk to deal with a potential Toxic. Speaking of Chansey...



Takes special hits. All the special hits. Spreads status, has the ability to cure the entire team of status, Chansey's going to be popular.



Only thing immune to Fighting, Gengar also gets the ability to deal Super Effective STAB damage to Psychics. Unfortunately, he also takes Super Effective STAB damage from Psychics, and is outsped by the two most popular, Starmie and Alakazam. Gengar is one of a few Pokemon that puts a ton of pressure on Clefable immediately, and can usually net a free Sub just by switching into her.



Alakazam is super strong, but suffers from a mediocre movepool, and doesn't have Special as one stat anymore, making it far more frail than it was back in RBY. Even so, it's got great Speed and puts on pressure immediately, which can be taken advantage of with Substitute on an expected switch.



CurseLax could be a really good end-game sweeper. Snorlax could also act as a potent revenge-killer, especially given his access to Pursuit. Snorlax has a lot of options, a lot of bulk, and a lot of power.



Nidoking gets all kinds of options, ranging from fully physical, to special, to mixed. Sucker Punch is an especially good option in this metagame for baiting Psychic types into attacking it and getting the jump on them. Sludge Wave/Poison Jab pressures Clefable, Ice Beam hits Dragonite, Thunderbolt has great coverage, Earth Power/Earthquake are powerful STABs, Nidoking really has it all.



Starmie has Hydro Pump, Psychic, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Recover, not to mention Rapid Spin support if you feel your team needs it, while sitting on a fantastic 115 base Speed stat and has more than enough Sp. Attack to deal out loads of damage.



Aerodactyl is very fast and has good offensive and support options, including Stone Edge, Aerial Ace (important for those damn Minimize Clefable), Earthquake, Crunch, Taunt, Stealth Rock, and Tailwind, among a few others.



Jolteon is just as fast, and has really great STAB in Thunderbolt and Volt Switch, allowing it to act as a pivot which isn't very common in this metagame. Hidden Power Ice and Shadow Ball round out coverage, but there's room for some interesting support options in Wish and Yawn if you choose.



Ninetales is the only auto-weather setter in this format, which makes it worth watching out for. It doesn't necessarily need a team built around it, but it can pair with Chlorophyll Venusaur for a good combo. A weakness to Stealth Rock holds it back a bit, but Sun boosted Fire Blasts or Overheats hit very hard, and it even has Psyshock to deal decent damage to Chansey.



Omastar gets Shell Smash, and has fantastic special attacking options in Hydro Pump, Ice Beam and AncientPower to sweep. Rain Dance is a great option instead of Shell Smash to boost your Speed and damage output without lowering your defenses.



Dragonite gets Dragon Dance and has the highest base Attack of all RBY Pokemon iirc, so that in itself is threatening. It even has Iron Head to chip away at Clefable, but I think Clefable will be holding Dragonite back from being truly dominant. You can also go fully special on a Rain team with options in Hurricane, Thunder, Draco Meteor, Agility, hell it can even set Rain Dance.

Edit: Iron Head does about 40%. This thing is still pretty terrifying, even if you have Unaware Clefable.



Slowbro has Regenerator and has great physical bulk, and the good Psychic typing for this metagame. Paralysis support through Thunder Wave aids the team, and Scald pressures many switch-ins. Reliable recovery in Slack Off too.



DDDos has potential, but same as Dragonite, Clefable is holding it back. Its STAB is also more easily resisted by many Pokemon, and the popularity of Thunderbolt makes this a bit of a risky choice.



Moltres gets access to Hurricane, which strangely makes it a decent choice for a Rain team, which can be pretty decent. It can also run Sunny Day and Fire Blast alongside Hurricane and just change the weather whenever it's convenient to do so.

So what are your thoughts? Who else could be a major player in this weird metagame? What will you be using?