WORK IN PROGRESS
...Salamence in RBY? What about Kyogre? Would darkrai be any good?
Ok, so, we see that there are only 151 pokemon in the RBY metagame, 149 not-banned (all ban mewtwo, most ban mew), and several stupid useless pokemon that evolve.
Q: How much would change from old RBY?
A: Steel and Dark types would be introduced, though there would be no STAB except Bite for Dark types. More pokemon to choose from, for sure.
Q: How much would change from Sinnoh?
A: Stat calculations. Special abilities (High non-truant Slaking). The split from special attack/special defense. Move varieties. Couple base powers and pps (ie, Outrage now having 90 as opposed to 120, mega drain having 10 pp as opposed to 15 in DP). No items (cya, soecsmence). No draco meteor. Special/Physical Split is no more (Razor Leaf is now special). Criticals based on speed.
Q: How do the mechanics work?
A: Still working on it, but some things you should know...
1.) It's a very simple formula:
Odds = S / 512, where S is the base Speed. Not the maximum, or the current
value of the stat.
Odds for Razor Leaf, Karate Chop, Slash, and Crabhammer = S / 64 (maximum
255/256)
Base 64 speed is the threshold for 99.6% criticals from these moves.
Odds with Focus Energy (Stadium) = S / 128 (again with the 255 cap)
2.) Critical hits bypass stat boosts - scyther Swords dances 3 times. It uses Slash. WHAT???? NO B00ST??!!?!?! Thats because criticals don't take modifiers into account. Same thing on the defensive side. Razor Leaf from Venusaur and Victreebell were the best counters for the Toybro sets that lacked Psychic or Blizzard. Basically, their base 55 grass moves now became base 220 moves against his moderate special.
Critical Hits are based on Base Speed, no speed modifiers affect it (paralysis,
3.) Stadium fixes - ever played in-game RBY? Substitute is useless, Hyper beam doesn't reset if it KOs, Focus Energy does nothing. These are all unintentional, and fixed in Stadium.
So, what if we actually expanded this? Use pokemon from other generations, use only the moves available in RBY, and discuss its potency. Please specify which special you would go off of - the Special Attack, or the Special Defense?
Here's an example:
A big one is....SWAMPERT!
Swampert
Special = Base 85 (Blastoise - How ironic :o)
~Earthquake
~Surf
~Blizzard
~Mimic/Rest/Substitute/Body Slam/Hyper Beam
So, we see a powerful type combo - Water and Ground. No real weaknesses (ZOMG, Mega Drain does 30%!!!!11!), a cool resist in electric, and moves to counter everything.
The last spot has the choice of Mimicing a Thunderbolt (unlikely being able to) or a Psychic (Starmie), or Recover (Starmie, FTW). Rest because its Defense and HP are great. Substitute if you really fear being solar beamed, or mega drain (lol). Hyper Beam just because. Really a tossup - it can function with just its first three moves.
Definitely beats out Blastoise in Water starters.
Think this is good? Lets look to the usually forgotten brother, Quagsire:
Quagsire
Special = Base 65 (Arbok)
~Amnesia
~Surf
~Blizzard
~Earthqauke
OMG COOL!!!!!!!
Amnesia on up, it'll get pretty close to the max of 999.
Now, we know how Lapras and Dewgong are, but how's Walrein?
Walrein
Special = Base 90 (on par with its brethren)
~Mimic
~Surf
~Ice Beam/Blizzard
~Rest
Slightly better defense and speed, same special, lower hp and attack. Inferior in every other way. Use Lapras first, then use this if you are tired.
Those on the banned list: Non-final evolutions (except good reason - like Scyther vs Scizor), Unown (auto struggle).
Who is a contender?
Any fully evolved pokemon.
NFE that affect the metagame slightly.
Any pokemon before RBY that has had massive changes.
Venusaur
~Razor Leaf
~Swords Dance/Leech Seed
~Earthquake/Stun Spore
~Sleep Powder/Leech Seed
So, you got 2 choices - use Venusaur's amazing speed for instant 110 bp razor leafs, and sweep physically as well with EQ and Swords Dance. Or, forgo the physical aspect, and use status.
Charizard
~Swords Dance
~Fire Blast
~Earthquake
~Rock Slide/Body Slam/Submission
Submission for Dark types, though Fire Blast and EQ deals a good number to most.
Blastoise
~Surf
~Blizzard
~Earthquake
~Body Slam/Bite
No matter how tempting Bite is, it'll only be good against Starmie and Slowbro. Aside from that, 95 + STAB is better than a 2x weakness and 60 base power.
Butterfree
~Mega Drain (subbing for Giga Drain)
~Psychic
~Sleep Powder/Hyper Beam
~Stun Spore/Hyper Beam
No change.
Beedrill
~Twineedle
~Swords Dance/Aglity/Focus Energy
~Hyper Beam
~Swords Dance/Aglity/Focus Energy/Mega Drain
Here's how it works - speed up and focus energy for critical chances with Twineedle, Or agility to just go first, and swords dance for more reliable attacking power. Won't matter, as it is too frail.
I got tired, so see Psypoke for the rest, with a few adaptations... like Raichu
Raichu
~Thunderbolt
~Thunderwave
~Surf
~Petal Dance/Body Slam
Why is this mentioned? Petal Dance was only used for novelty, in that Raichu was able to sweep Golem/Rhydon without Stadium 1. This was an event :D.
It comes back into play because Petal Dance now hits bigger players in the game - Swampert, Quagsire, possible kabutops/omastar. Body Slam, however, is much more useful, as you damage grasses, and paralyze Sandslash/Swampert/Quagsire.
Sandslash
~Swords Dance
~EQ
~Rock Slide
~Body Slam
There's a difference between Dugtrio and Sandslash - Swords Dance. Best you make it clear, or its simply a weaker dugtrio.
Nidoqueen/Nidoking
~Amnesia/Earthquake
~Thunderbolt/Rock Slide
~Blizzard/Body Slam
~Surf/Focus Energy
Clefable
~Amnesia
~Body Slam/Blizzard
~Thunderbolt/Psychic
~Softboiled
Behold, the mini-chansey. Body Slam + Psychic hits most pokemon with paralysis and special drop. Blizzbolt has few resists, and is very powerful with Amnesia.
Crobat (base 80)
~Hypnosis
~Mega Drain
~Hyper Beam/Confuse ray
~Bite
If not for being the fastest sleeper, it would be uu or nu. But, imagine jolteon with a sleep move - it'd be a gengar killer. Bite? Wow...
Also, confuse ray may prove more useful than hyper beam, as he's not going to do much with hyper beam, and he needs to attack with sleep clause. It gets his survivability up.
Vileplume and Bellossom (Base 90)
~Mega Drain/Razor LEaf/Petal Dance
~Swords Dance
~Acid/Body Slam
~Body Slam/Sleep Powder
They vary slightly. Use body slam in slot 3 for bellosom, definitely not acid. Swords Dance STAB Acid is powerful.
Parasect
~Spore
~Stun spore/Substitute
~Mega Drain/Swords Dance
~Psybeam/Leech Life
It got Psybeam. It also got competition from Smeargle, Breloom.
It should be noted that the second options made it a mewtwo killer - 3 swords dances after sporing mewtwo, and 1 leech life gave it 30% of its health back.
Persian
~Amnesia
~Bite
~Thunderbolt
~BubbleBeam/Hypnosis
Amnesia is powerful. Amnesia'd BITE is super, as it is dark type, and special based in a Psychic metagame. Totally sweet. The last move is a tossup between Hypnosis (safe amnesia), bubblebeam (Golem/Rhydon that think they can set up on you), slash (CH always, STAB), Mimic (Surf, Blizzard), Body Slam (STAB, para hax).
It should be noted that amnesia is through breeding, while Lovely kiss is through event, so he can't get both. He can use lovely kiss on a physical set (consisting only of normal type moves, mimic).
Primeape
~Karate Chop (High CH Ratio, 99.6% Critical)
~Focus Energy
~Submission
~Earthquake
Thats not even all - Rock Slide is now available to hit birdies. Meditate (though no boost for karate chop), Screech (negated by karate chop, again).
Arcanine didn't get improvements until DP, and those are all new moves.
Poliwrath is not much different from RBY with Tradebacks. Just rock slide which is inferior than Blizzard after amnesia.
Politoed is being stuck in because its part of the same family. Base 90 Special
~Lovely Kiss
~Amnesia
~Surf/Blizzard/Psychic/EQ
~Surf/Blizzard/Psychic/EQ
If you go with Psychic, its a weaker Slowbro that picked up a lovely kiss.
If you run EQ, you are a Quagsire with Lovely Kiss.
Lovely Kiss, FTW
Alakazam didn't change from RBY with Tradebacks.
Except for how much those tradebacks will be used
Alakazam
~Psychic
~Ice Punch
~Thunderpunch
~Recover/ThunderWave/Fire Punch
Fire punch is for the numerous new steels. But recover helps the frailty. And thunderwave is reliable parlysis.
Machamp didn't change either.
Same with Victreebell.
Tentacruel - just some moveset legality issues:
Rapid Spin, Haze, Confuse Ray cannot be on the same moveset.
Golem hasn't changed
Rapidash now gets Solar Beam, so can now run sunnybeam (but still has better options_
Slowbro hasn't changed at all. Except, he's slightly lower now - Slowking is in the house
Slowking (Base 100 or 110 SPECIAL)
~Amnesia
~Rest/Psychic/Surf/Blizzard
~Thunderwave/Psychic/Surf/Blizzard
~Psychic/Surf/Blizzard
Rest is now optional - his defense is base 80, unboostable.
Magnezone - 4x ground weakness, but look at the resists!
Base 130 Special says alot with base 115 Defense.
~Thunderbolt
~ThunderWave
~Explosion/Rest
~Barrier/Reflect/Light Screen
Tankish? Would be if it could remove the glaring Earthquake Weakness. And Dig is still 100 bp (though switch out)
That is basically his whole movepool, aside from physical Screech, Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Tri-Attack, and Swift.
The speed drop isn't welcome, but that can be fixed with Thunderwave.
Farfetch'd hasn't gotten any new moves, which it desperately needed.
Nothing new for dodrio, except Staravia competition. even then, Drill PEck is still there. STRONGEST HYPER BEAM/BODY SLAM IN THE GAME.
Dewgong got slightly better, but it has new competition with Walrein who packs EQ and Rock Slide.
Muk has several problems - poison typing, horrid move variety for his stats, mainly special moves, based off of his terrible special stat.
Cloyster now just has more problems. Don't use clamp, no matter what. It explodes, Surfs, paralyses, and freezes with ice beam/blizzard.
When you are so good, there's no way for you to get better, right? Yep, thats the truth, and gengar runs his old set.
Onix didn't change, so he's passed over for his evo, steelix (base 55, up from base 30)
Steelix
~Earthquake
~Body Slam
~Explosion
~Screech/Sharpen
He no longer gets STAB on Rock Slide, and has a bit more survivability, so Screech and Sharpen are more viable.
Hypno keeps Amnesia, even though its not in the DP moveset. Nothing else.
Kingler got good, finally. He can sue Rock Slide. And Dig is back to 100 power.
~Swords dance
~Dig
~Rock Slide
~Body Slam/Hyper Beam/Crabhammer
He can also amnesia, replace crabhammer with surf, though.
Electrode got worse - he is now outsped by Ninjask and deoxys.
Eggy got his super cool special back, and adds Swords Dance to his movepool.
Here's where I'd like to bring up a glitch about explosion - or at least a rumor of it. If you set up a sub, and then explode, you don't die - the sub does. So, you can sub and explode 3 or 4 times :o
If that holds true...
Exeggutor
~Leech Seed/Sleep Powder
~Swords Dance
~Substitute
~Explosion
Leech Seed and Sleep powder serve the same purpose - force a switch. They each have their merits, though - if the opponent stays in, there's health to be gained back for more subbing while dancing. If they are asleep, they won't break your sub.
Marowak got one thing - an inaccurate sleep move (sing). Thats it. He does have something that really comes in handy - bonemerang, STABed, to break Subs. Thats it.
Meganium
Typhlosion
Feraligatr
Q: What about moves I think that a pokemon should get, but doesn't?
A: Use your common sense. If beedrill gets Giga drain, is there any reason it wouldn't get mega drain (in fact, it does in RBY). Bubble beam replaces water pulse.
Version 1: Put in a nice intro, added in until Parasect
Versian 2: Added in until Dewgong
Version 3: Edited out Persians physical pool, and simply added it in as a note next to lovely kiss. Added in Muk -> Marowak, take a look at Eggy's set to verify a rumor. Edited in only about an hour after version 2.
This is just a slow process. Eventually, I'll get to Kyogre/Garchomp/Weavile
Trust me, AmnesiaLax was, despite being base 65.
So, since I posted, I did a bit more research on the mechanics, and a vew more movesets
You'll notice that I merely commented on some old RBYers, too lazy to make completely new sets for them.
