All about RBY Partial Trapping [HTML-ready!]

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Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Co-writing w/ SBPC & pac
Artwork by ausma, s/o for the cool Red/Green-era Dragonite artwork.





Introduction
One of the most well-known aspects of RBY is how partial trapping—a largely forgotten mechanic only seeing prominent use on Magma Storm Heatran in later generations—is among the most powerful mechanics in the game, working entirely differently from modern moves. In case you didn't know, in later generations, partial trapping is generally minor; a Pokemon is prevented from switching and takes chip damage for a set amount of turns. In RBY, on the other hand, Pokemon can switch out but are immobilized instead while still taking chip damage. This makes oft-forgotten moves like Wrap, Bind, Fire Spin, and Clamp all very important moves in the chromatic generation. Some compare RBY partial trapping to Serene Grace Iron Head Jirachi in newer generations, but with the very low damage and accuracy, as well as the amount of punishment even a single miss can receive, the comparisons are arguably a bit sensational. Speaking of cross-generational difference, did you know Wrap master Dragonite originally looked almost completely different in Red and Green, featuring a more elongated design and a dorsal fin? We did, so we had our resident artist ausma represent that in the artwork for this article!

However, the mechanic is often described as "lame," "degenerate," and "braindead" by onlookers. In fact, it's so controversial that partial trapping has historically been banned in some popular RBY formats due to its arguable brokenness, particularly in the late RBY 2k10 community, which produced its own tiers. These tiers would later be adopted by Pokemon Online, albeit with partial trapping unbanned, and a later vote kept it as such, which is the last we see of any action against the moves. These tiers and the partial trapping ban were never adopted on Smogon, though, so you essentially had two parallel communities competing during the 2010s, creating a minor split in metagame development. RBY 2k10 has since died off, being superseded by Pokemon Perfect, which developed new lower tiers; these didn't take action on partial trapping and were not adopted by Smogon either. This definitively put an end to any kind of partial trapping ban in competitive RBY. Pokemon Online and Pokemon Perfect have also suspended all tiering projects, allowing Smogon's lower tiers to flourish now that they're being optimized and enjoyed.

Contrary to popular belief, partial trapping actually has quite a lot of depth to offer, which is one of many reasons why the Wrap ban of old died off. This guide will aim to demonstrate that. For the purposes of accuracy, rather than refer to a Pokemon as "trapped" like how we describe later generations, we'll say "wrapped," as you really need to be aware that you can switch and distinguish the mechanics more.


The Mechanics
To quote the mechanics guide:
RBY partial trapping should be treated like a completely separate entity to modern-day partial trapping. Partial trapping moves—Wrap, Bind, Clamp, and Fire Spin—will deal the same amount of damage every turn, similar to multi-hit moves. Additionally, a user will be locked into the move for 2-5 turns, and a target will be completely immobilized during the ordeal, unable to strike back. In the event of a Pokémon with an immunity, such as Ghost-types against Wrap or Bind, they will be immobilized but will not take damage.
If the trapper switches, the trapped Pokémon will not be able to move, making moves like Wrap pseudo-pivot moves. On the flip side, a faster trapped Pokémon will get to punish the switch-in, as it will be freed the following turn. The trapped Pokémon can also switch out, regardless of Speed. Switching out while trapped will force the opposing trapper to "reuse" the move, restarting the 2-5 turn lock and subtracting one PP, giving a form of PP stall counterplay. If the move is forced to be reused through switching at 0 PP though, it will roll over to 63 (this will not occur if the opponent tries to use the move at 0 PP). With these factors considered, there is quite a bit of depth to partial trapping situations.
If a Pokémon has used Hyper Beam and the opposing partial trapping user misses, the recharge turn is skipped. If the partial trapping move is used and misses while the foe is recharging, though, the opposing Hyper Beam user will automatically reuse Hyper Beam. If they have 0 Hyper Beam PP at this point, the move's PP will also roll over to 63. For example, if Tauros uses its last Hyper Beam and fails to KO a normal Speed Dragonite, then Dragonite uses Wrap and misses, Tauros can immediately move again next turn. If Dragonite uses Agility right after the final Hyper Beam and then uses Wrap next turn and misses, however, Tauros will immediately use Hyper Beam and get 63 more uses.
If a partial trapping move is copied by Mirror Move and succeeds, it works as normal. However, if the trapped Pokémon switches out in a Link Battle, due to Mirror Move forcing the move to fail on one side and having the user continue partial trapping on the other, this will cause a desync.

The Situation
Because of these mechanics, when a Pokemon is "wrapped," the following options are available:
  • The wrapped Pokemon can switch out.
    • This forces the wrapper to reuse their partial trapping move if they stay in, unless the move just completed its last turn.
  • The wrapped Pokemon can stay in, scouting for a switch from the wrapper or absorbing damage.
  • The wrapper can switch out.
    • This leaves the wrapped Pokemon unable to move for the turn if it stays in, acting like a pivot move in later generations.
  • The wrapper can "press," continuing the attack.
    • To be clear, each time the move is reused, it's a bit of a gamble. There is a 37.5% chance that the wrapper will get 2 or 3 turns each, and a 12.5% chance that the wrapper will get 4 or 5 turns each. The second each wrapping sequence ends, the option to switch out safely is removed for that turn. Continuing the attack is mainly done to put Pokemon in range for a follow-up attack.
All four of these options manipulate the situation in different ways, and playing to them is critical to succeeding with the move. Partial trapping moves can either gain you immense momentum or put you into a terrible spot depending on how you utilize them, and it all comes down to how you switch. It should be noted that neither player knows whether their partial trapping move will continue until they click the "Fight" button; if the move continues, player input is removed and the attack continues with a "Communicating!" screen. Otherwise, move selection comes up as normal.

If your Pokemon is wrapped while being slower, your main option will be to weave in a faster Pokemon as soon as possible. You're "bleeding" damage the longer your Pokemon stays in, which will build pressure on your end as your Pokemon slowly gets chipped into range of KO moves. By switching in a faster Pokemon, you force the wrapper to end the sequence by switching itself, denying a safe pivot and possibly forcing progress on either end. Remember that the wrapper can always predict the faster switch-in as well. You can also stay in and wait for a miss, though this often results in taking a lot of chip damage. Alternatively, switching between your Pokemon to PP stall can also work, but this takes quite a while, spreads out a ton of chip damage, and reveals your team, so it should not be your primary form of counterplay.

The main disadvantage to partial trapping is accuracy, which leads to high levels of inconsistency. For example, hitting all 32 of Wrap's PP is mathematically improbable, as it has 84.4% accuracy. Even a single miss can be devastating, opening the Wrap user up to being contested with status or heavy damage. For example, Thunder Wave can firmly end most hopes for Wrap spam, giving Wrap a 32.8% chance to effectively fail considering both paralysis and the miss chance, while also making the user slower than any unparalyzed Pokemon. Agility is often required to make any further wrapping worthwhile when paralyzed. There's also the possibility of Toxic or Leech Seed, which causes the Wrap user to take more damage than it deals, though these are used more in lower tiers. All of these consistency problems become much worse when you venture outside of Wrap specifically, with Clamp and Bind having 74.6% accuracy and Fire Spin having a pitiful 69.5% accuracy, which, as you can imagine, becomes brutally inconsistent when paralyzed.

To put wrapping's benefits and risks into perspective, here's a play-by-play:
  1. Dragonite uses Wrap against an Exeggutor. Exeggutor can't move for the turn, as it's slower.
  2. Dragonite now has the option of continuing the attack, switching into a Blizzard user to force Exeggutor out, or switching to a faster Pokemon to pre-empt a faster switch-in. Exeggutor has the option of staying in to scout or switching into a faster Pokemon to try and force damage or status onto the opposing team.
  3. Dragonite switches out to Starmie, a Pokemon capable of heavily threatening Exeggutor with high damage from Blizzard. Exeggutor stayed in, so now it's forced out unless Sleep Clause isn't active and it can use Sleep Powder at the time. However, this situation could have been avoided or changed with the following;
To summarize from this play-by-play, partial trapping forces a mind game onto both combatants once used. Many, many situations can come from a single Wrap use, making it surprisingly interactive if both players understand how it works and what options are available.

Role Compendium
Ordered by Speed; tradeback moves are separated by a vertical bar ( | ). Arcanine is just below Ninetales in terms of Speed, being base 95.
  • Bind: :pinsir::onix::tangela:
  • Clamp: :cloyster:
  • Fire Spin: :rapidash::charizard::ninetales::moltres::flareon: | :arcanine:
  • Wrap: :tentacruel::dragonite::arbok::victreebel::lickitung:
  • Agility + Fire Spin: :rapidash::moltres: | :arcanine:
  • Agility + Wrap: :dragonite:
  • Swords Dance + Bind: :pinsir::tangela:
  • Swords Dance + Wrap: :tentacruel::victreebel::lickitung:

Boosting with Partial Trapping
Swords Dance
Users: Pinsir, Tentacruel, Tangela, Victreebel

Since a critical hit wrapping move always deals the same amount of damage for each "tick," you can imagine what Swords Dance can provide Wrap and Bind users. Dealing much higher chip damage per turn, it's possible to run rings around paralyzed teams and build a strong advantage very quickly, arguably making up for the accuracy issues. It's also important to note that Swords Dance can reapply the foe's Speed drop from paralysis, so it can also be a nice safety net should the user also be paralyzed. Finally, with Hyper Beam also being boosted by Swords Dance, with backing from partial trapping, a Pokemon can be taken down very quickly without a chance to fight back.

However, Swords Dance + partial trapping has never been a standard; this is not only because of the users being iffy but also because of the setup required. Partial trapping really appreciates Speed to prop up the user, preventing them from being hit before the wrapping begins, and thus requires paralysis support. Each user barring Tentacruel has some kind of issue with Speed or fragility, so they're even more dependent on this support to function. There's also the problem of having to spend a turn to set up without having guaranteed payoff after; as mentioned before, the accuracy of these moves is problematic and will crop up. Ergo, you can end up with two turns of doing absolutely nothing, which can mean everything for the opponent.

Examples

victreebel.png


Victreebel doesn't always use Swords Dance, but it is the only Swords Dance + Wrap user to hit the OU tier. It's not hard to see why this set can be potent, with its high Attack stat letting its +2 Wrap rack up serious damage on most of the tier. Should threats like Alakazam and Starmie get paralyzed, it's very difficult to come back from a set-up Victreebel, which often only loses due to its awful consistency, which has led to it using different sets. Regardless, Victreebel's inconsistency as a whole—not just with Swords Dance—has been its undoing in 2021, with it potentially dropping back to UU soon. It also has issues with fitting Hyper Beam onto its sets, often wanting Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder, and Wrap in its moveset at minimum.


tentacruel.png


Tentacruel is the face of RBY UU, dictating how games progress through its sheer power and fast Wrap. Naturally, it's a strong candidate for a Swords Dance + Wrap set, which has some minor OU history in the mid-2000s as well, though it falls off in modern OU because of an abundance of fast Thunder Wave users. However, Tentacruel being the fastest user of the combination gives the set some strong points in its favor in RBY UU, making it a scary late-game sweeper. This set is also Tentacruel's best bet when it comes to blowing past the bulky Water-types that attempt to revolt against its tyranny, swiftly cutting into their bulk and allowing for a quick finisher if it carries Hyper Beam. However, somewhat like Victreebel, this set is often forgone in favor of Rest sets, guaranteeing mileage from Tentacruel's presence throughout the game rather than relying on a late-game sweep, which Articuno or Persian can provide just fine. It's still very usable, though, and has seen high-level success, so teams that want Tentacruel to blow past bulky Water-types like Vaporeon can benefit heavily from this set.


pinsir.png


Pinsir has found a way to be usable in OU, UU, and NU, although never as a top-tier threat. Being the Swords Dance + partial trapping user with the highest Attack stat, Pinsir has the ability to wreak havoc, dealing roughly 9% per Bind tick, quickly putting Pokemon into Hyper Beam or Slash range. With a half decent Speed stat to boot, it's very capable of locking down endgames with just a few Pokemon paralyzed. However, it's also very inconsistent, with Bind and Hyper Beam both often missing before it can claim a game. It's also absolutely destroyed by each tier's resident Ghost-type, which it can't touch outside of Seismic Toss or pivoting out with Bind, a weakness no other wrapper has.


Agility
Users: Dragonite, Rapidash, Moltres. Arcanine gains the combination of Fire Spin + Agility via trading through the Time Capsule in GSC.

When boosting Speed alongside partial trapping, you remove the main form of counterplay to the strategy: switching in faster Pokemon. This gives the wrapper full control over the game, essentially providing you with free chip damage for what can be up to 32 turns. This can be further extended if the opponent accidentally underflows your PP to 63. As one would expect, this strategy is very controversial, as this essentially forces the victim to PP stall the partial trapping move until it's over. Many have argued the combination to be uncompetitive and campaigned for its ban, though nothing has come of this, outside of a suspect test we'll go over later.

Despite its reputation, however, this strategy rarely sees its peaks. While it has the potential to be extremely strong, like with Swords Dance, you have to spend not only a turn setting up, but also handle what's an 84.4% hit rate at best throughout long wrapping sequences. Ergo, the "two turns of nothing" risk comes back to bite the strategy, only this time with much heavier punishment, as committing to Agility + partial trapping strategies has no damage-increasing benefits. Thus, not only is it possible to disrupt your setup on the Agility turn with moves like Thunder Wave, Toxic, or even a strong super effective move, it may not even work when you get to set up. It's a high-risk, inconsistent reward strategy, though it still sees use by teams that can afford the risk, and it remains a strong option that warps lower tiers.

Examples

dragonite.png


Dragonite is the face of Agility + partial trapping, becoming so controversial in RBY UU that it was suspect tested in May 2021, the first tiering action the tier had seen since BL's removal in 2011. With its titanic Attack stat, it's very capable of dealing massive damage to an opposing team with AgiliWrap. Since it also happens to have the best partial trapping move accuracy-wise, plus an absolutely incredible movepool that lets it choose its checks, it's definitely the most consistent user of the strategy as well. However, because of the aforementioned issues, the suspect test ended in a No Ban vote, and Dragonite has also begun to diversify.


moltres.png


Moltres has been usable in every RBY tier—even Ubers—thanks to its ridiculous highs. It has a titanic Special stat to bolster its Fire Spin, as well as the strongest unboosted special attack in the game in its Fire Blast. This, combined with respectable bulk and Attack, has enabled it to be an interesting late-game sweeper. These qualities have made it a very strong NU threat as in particular, seeing use on a wide variety of teams, with even Rest sets popping up now and again. However, while it has those highs, it's never been chilling with Mewtwo and Mew because of its awful consistency, which is the worst out of all Agility + partial trapping users. No moves Moltres regularly uses—Fire Blast, Fire Spin, and Hyper Beam—have good accuracy, meaning it can and will miss at least once during a game. That one opening is often more than enough for it to get effectively OHKOed by paralysis, or see its defensive typing get exploited by the rampant Blizzards and Thunderbolts running around Kanto.

Effects: OU
Partial trapping's effects on OU are largely limited by the users themselves. Their Speed is often not that high; this lets Alakazam, Starmie, Jolteon, and even Tauros or Zapdos perform as naturally good checks to the strategy with their Speed and often potential to paralyze wrappers. Additionally, many Pokemon are monumentally bulky, such as Chansey, Snorlax, and Cloyster, allowing them to sit down and absorb the hits until a miss happens. Thus, partial trapping is mostly seen as a fringe strategy, but still a viable one for how high the payoff can be. There have also been periods where partial trapping is very dominant, though—particularly in 2018 to 2019—which we'll go over in a bit.

cloyster.png


Cloyster is the most common user of partial trapping in RBY OU, and it's not even close. Its defensive presence and good Speed relative to the OU staples allows it to serve as a decent non-Thunderbolt Tauros check while pivoting against the slower, bulkier presences you see on every team, namely Snorlax and Chansey. Being able to lock down these Pokemon is very important, especially Snorlax, which has the early-game presence to frequently decide where the game's later momentum will swing. Cloyster is most commonly seen alongside Pokemon that profit from being switched in safely but are otherwise flawed; Jolteon specifically is a good deterrent to Starmie, which is the foundation for the famous "JoltCloy" core that Heroic Troller produced and succeeded with during 2019 to 2020.


victreebel.png


Victreebel's influence over OU is not something seen nowadays, but the scars of its time in the spotlight during 2018 and 2019 remain. Being faster than your regular figureheads—notably Chansey, Exeggutor, and Snorlax—allowed it to take over games very quickly, decimating the now-antiquated "Big 4" teams pretty much on its own. This was mainly because people would often trade Thunder Wave on Turn 1, something that became much less frequent when Victreebel was able to profit from the typical absorbers losing their Speed, namely Starmie and Alakazam. Victreebel's heavy-handed response to these common metagame trends forced players to adapt, and they begrudgingly did. Sing Chansey is now often switching in on Turn 1 Thunder Waves instead, so it is much more difficult to spread paralysis for Victreebel to take over. It still can and it's by far one of the best non-standard Pokemon out there, but it's nowhere near a staple like it was back then. Regardless, Victreebel single-handedly led to the modern RBY metagame, where sleep leads are in their prime and Exeggutor is seen as droppable. Few Pokemon in the entire franchise, let alone RBY, can claim they turned a 20+ year old metagame on its head.

dragonite.png


Dragonite has always been a controversial character in tiering, with posts dating back to 2006 complaining about its antics. It's been OU-tiered a few times because of it on various websites, but it never truly stayed there because of the rampant Blizzards and Thunder Waves in its way, not to mention the bulky metagame staples. However, AgiliWrap isn't all Dragonite can do here, and to say otherwise is a gross misunderstanding. In recent years, Dragonite has seen much diversification with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Blizzard / Hyper Beam, which allows it to form a catch-22 between Wrap and Thunder Wave. The main counterplay to Wrap is to switch in a faster Pokemon, but doing this against Dragonite puts you at risk of being paralyzed. Dragonite is also capable of using Surf to deal with Rhydon more definitively, preventing it from safely absorbing Wrap. Dragonite also saw much use alongside Victreebel during its prime, forming the once-popular "VicNite" core that would sometimes even drop Chansey in favor of going for an all-out offense.

moltres.png


Moltres has seen sporadic usage over the years at top level, including the recent SPL XII. The second its walls—Chansey, Starmie, and Slowbro—are removed, it can often wreak havoc on the opposing team in a similar manner to Articuno. However, it's among the worst viable users of partial trapping for the exact same reasons as Dragonite: horrible defensive typing, getting debilitated by paralysis, and horrific consistency. What really lets it down, though, is accidentally thawing a frozen Chansey or something with its Fire Blast. This can be enough to lose a game in modern RBY, and possessing more weaknesses and a worse movepool can be problematic as well. Regardless, it's one of the scariest low-ranked Pokemon in the tier, brutally tearing teams apart through sheer damage output if all goes to plan, although this doesn't always pan out.
pinsir.png


Pinsir is another Pokemon that has seen scarce usage but is considered to be viable in OU for its late-game sweeping potential. Swords Dance + Bind, combined with a Speed stat quite high relative to OU, enables Pinsir to lock down teams once their faster Pokemon are paralysed. Its Hyper Beam is nothing to scoff at, OHKOing Alakazam, Chansey, Jolteon, Jynx, and Victreebel at +2. With a strong Bind to chip other Pokemon into KO range, Pinsir can be seen using one or two Binds put an opposing Pokemon into range right away. However, it's severely lacking in the movepool department—not even having STAB or non-Normal-type coverage to back itself up, making it lose to Gengar and Rock-types outright without Seismic Toss or the unreliable Submission, respectively. It hasn't got any special bulk to write home about either, which is exposed severely by all the fast special attackers in the tier. Ergo, Pinsir is quite rare, but usable. At least it has a use in SPL VII to its name!


Effects: Uber
Because of Mewtwo and Mew's existence and teams demanding Chansey and Snorlax usage, Uber teams often feature many Pokemon with high HP and overall respectable bulk, making partial trapping much more difficult to justify. Both of the Ubers are extremely fast, and Mewtwo is often capable of just OHKOing whatever wrapper is thrown at it. Ergo, regular wrapping is virtually nonexistent, as its users just aren't fast or bulky enough to contest the despots at the top of the tier. With ridiculous Special on every viable Pokemon, AgiliSpin is also out. This leaves AgiliWrap to try and make an impact.

dragonite.png


The sole arguably viable wrapper in Ubers is Dragonite, as a result of its immense Attack and the ability to set up on Mew if it only has Earthquake to attack with. These traits can allow Dragonite to attempt AgiliWrap and try to score free damage on the opposing team, which can be helpful. However, you'll often want a Self-Destruct Mewtwo to at least dispatch opposing Mewtwo if you want a shot at pulling this off, as it's Mewtwo is very capable of absorbing the hits, farming Amnesia boosts, or just outright removing Dragonite using Ice Beam.

Effects: UU


tentacruel.png


Affectionately referred to by RBY UU players as "The Great Dictator" or something similar, Tentacruel utilizes Wrap as a method of creating a hellish grip on the tier, and that's absolutely no secret. It almost single-handedly determines the viability of Pokemon, such as Electabuzz being UU over Raichu due to their Speed tier difference alone. Various others, such as Charizard and Nidoking, are prevented from succeeding in part due to the existence of Tentacruel, while Moltres is relegated to niche use. In fact, Tentacruel played a role in the unbanning of Articuno and Moltres alongside Omastar. Wrap allows Tentacruel to serve as an incredible lead, breaking in games to the user's advantage from the momentum it gives, resulting in many UU games starting with a Tentacruel mirror match. However, Tentacruel can also run a Swords Dance + Wrap set to clean up late-game, allowing it to blow past checks like Vaporeon and Dewgong rather than getting stopped short. But that's just the surface of this incredibly powerful Pokemon, as its Special stat gives it great damage outside of Wrap, and its Poison typing makes it immune to opposing Toxic, a unique trait amongst wrappers. Counterplay to Tentacruel comes in the form of faster Pokemon such as Dugtrio, Electabuzz, and Kadabra, which must be incredibly careful not to get paralyzed earlier in the match in order to preserve their Speed tiers, all while trying to paralyze an opposing Tentacruel to make it slightly less oppressive, slowing it to a crawl and allowing other Pokemon to effectively check it as well. Few Pokemon have had such an effect on a tier, but Tentacruel has been seen as a healthy top tier among enthusiasts for the varied and skill-based interactions it presents.


dragonite.png


As its suspect test in 2021 implies, Dragonite is one of the most important Pokemon to immediately check in RBY UU due to how powerful its sets are; they range widely in function, with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Body Slam / Hyper Beam or Blizzard, Agility sweeper sets, Gyarados-like sets, and more all seeing some kind of usage. However, no set is as controversially powerful as its AgiliWrap set. Notorious for its ability to steal games within just a few turns. Dragonite's Wrap is one of the strongest in the entire game alone, and with a boost in Speed, it can completely control the game and be nearly impossible to defensively answer outside of dumb luck. Toxic is one of few ways to completely shut down a sweep, as the passive damage prevents Dragonite from staying in permanently, while offensive answers such as Articuno and Tentacruel can shut it down with their access to Blizzard. Because of the sheer threat level of this set, Pokemon like Persian, Dodrio, Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, and more are almost mandated to run Toxic, lest teams get shut down and chipped into range for a KO by Dragonite's teammates. This set, while incredibly dominant, isn't the only trick Dragonite carries, however. Paralysis spreading with both Thunder Wave and Body Slam makes Dragonite an incredible utility choice while also slowing answers down for its powerful Wrap to whittle down. Overall, Dragonite is a definitive piece of RBY UU; while Tentacruel gives it the moniker of "Wrap tier", Dragonite actualizes the term.

Effects: NU
charizard.png
moltres.png
rapidash.png
ninetales.png


Unlike UU, where Wrap is the dominant partial trapping move, in NU Fire Spin is the name of the game. The conditions of NU finally allow for most Fire-types to be viable, meaning that a lot of high-power Pokemon are condensed into the tier. This makes Fire Spin incredibly valuable, dealing impressive STAB chip damage. In addition, the blazing Speed of nearly every Fire Spin user effectively gives each viable one the might of the infamous “AgiliWrap” strategy, but without the need for a setup turn. Fire Spin’s inconsistency is the only thing keeping it in check. Charizard’s blazing fast Speed, fantastic coverage, and ability to pivot around the opponent with Fire Spin makes it incredibly hard to breakits momentum, allowing it to escape its checks like Blastoise while also chipping them down for its teammates. It's also mostly thanks to Charizard’s access to Fire Spin and Earthquake that an entirely new playstyle arises in NU, that being the infamous “Fire Spam,” a strategy where multiple speedy Fire-type Pokemon utilize a combination of Fire Spin and Toxic to run through their checks and reduce interactivity as much as possible. This success of Fire Spin makes Toxic a regular part of the metagame, adding an entirely new dimension of strategy to the tier.

pinsir.png


Pinsir is most successful in NU, complementing access to Bind with one of the largest offensive presences of the tier thanks to Swords Dance. It largely reprises its role in UU, but with much higher viability in general. +2 Hyper Beam scores OHKOs on Mr. Mime, Dragonair, Blastoise, and Clefable with minor chip damage from Bind. However, Pinsir can struggle in the metagame at times thanks to the newfound viability of Fire-types, and the higher baseline Speed makes Bind less helpful.

Fire Spin Arcanine: The Lost Wrapper

arcanine.png

The only Pokemon to get a partial trapping move via the Time Capsule in GSC is Arcanine, which gains Fire Spin. This is a massive boost to its utility, as it also has Agility, letting it use the AgiliSpin combo alongside its very high Attack stat. It doesn't have to just do this, either, as almost any combination of Fire Blast, Fire Spin, Body Slam, Hyper Beam and Agility is viable in some respects. It also gains Headbutt through Tradebacks, which gives it the potential to exploit paralyzed Pokemon more effectively, though this is often inferior to Body Slam and Hyper Beam without dedicated teambuilding.

Arcanine mainly competes with Moltres as an AgiliSpin user in formats Tradebacks are allowed in, which has a higher Special stat, better bulk, and an Earthquake immunity. Arcanine, on the other hand, has access to Body Slam plus higher Speed and Attack stats. Because of this, while Arcanine deals less Fire Spin damage per turn, it's arguably better at closing out interactions against Pokemon with less Defense, such as Alakazam or Chansey. However, to say it replaces Moltres would be a lie, considering the sheer power Moltres has compared to Arcanine overall. Regardless, it's certainly a serviceable option and a much better Pokemon, no longer having to be seen as "that one Fire-type without Fire Spin."

Changes in Pokemon Stadium
Introduced in the Japanese Pokemon Stadium and kept for the Pokemon Stadium game we got internationally, these partial trapping alterations change up the games a bit:
  • The 1/256 accuracy bug is fixed, indirectly making the moves more consistent. Thus, Wrap has 85% accuracy, Bind and Clamp have 75% accuracy, and Fire Spin has 70% accuracy.
  • Since the Fight menu no longer exists, and pressing Fight will always bring up the move menu, neither player will ever know if wrapping continues until commands are issued.
  • If either player switches, the turn automatically ends and the wrapper isn't forced to use the move again. If both players switch, the same happens; neither player is "blocked" from switching or impeded by another move use. Essentially, both players get the pivot effect.
These changes make partial trapping moves somewhat like phazing, though in quite a bad way, with it largely considered to be a nerf. It essentially gives the opponent safe entry for their Pokemon, making switching a faster Pokemon in much easier and limiting the amount of chip damage they have to take before they have a chance to fight the wrapper. It does, however, make the moves a bit harder to PP stall, as the wrapper is no longer "forced" to use partial trapping move upon switching. This can be seen as a slight boost to AgiliWrap strategies, as the commitment behind the move isn't as large and the sweep can always be abandoned if a switch-in is more easily beaten by something else. However, metagame relevance in this area is largely unexplored.

Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide has successfully delivered the interesting nuances and history behind RBY partial trapping, as well as how to counter it properly. While a very misunderstood mechanic, it can be very powerful and interactive in the hands of experienced players, and it is something people should explore more. If you're interested in a tier where you can see the mechanics in full form, RBY UU is perhaps the most relevant, considering its resident monarch is the most notorious user of it. Give it a shot!
 
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Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Current thoughts I had while writing;
  • I'm thinking that we can just take the section from the mechanics guide as a quotation when explaining mechanics. It does a really good job and rewriting it wouldn't really make sense.
  • Writing this made me realise I never wrote in SD+Wrap/Bind in my Tradebacks thread's Role Compendium, so I fixed that and chucked it on here.
  • Had thoughts on the legality history, I think that's a cool thing to cover for the historical perspective
  • Dr Lava and his friends haven't upscaled the Dratini Wrap art yet. Darn!
  • I think using tiers as case studies will be interesting.
  • Do we compare Wrap to Iron Head flinches or no? Idk if it really fits how the move works in practice.
  • I despise the term "trapper" when referring to Wrap so I'm rebelling against the bourgeoisie and using "wrapper" and "wrapped Pokemon" for the purposes of this guide. It really detracts from how the move works.

There's a ton we can do with this and I'll be chatting with a bunch of people in regards to how to go about it.
 

phoopes

I did it again
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
quick thoughts:

Intro/Mechanics:
While the quote from the mechanics guide does a good job at explaining how partial-trapping works in RBY, might be good to include how it differs in current gens? Not that I know how it works in current gens because I only play RBY but I think it may be helpful. Especially if you're doing a "history" section or whatever with how it was banned in the RBY2k10 days (which I also don't know about because I wasn't around for it lol)

The Situation:
The wrapped Pokemon can switch out.
  • This forces the wrapper to reuse their partial trapping move if they stay in.​
I really don't know how to word it but the Wrapper is forced to use the partial trapping move "unless the move was used to completion" maybe? Because yeah if you switch out after the first hit of Wrap you're guaranteed to see Wrap again but if you choose to switch after the second hit you don't know if Wrap is actually over or not so if it's over they can click an attacking move. Do you get what I'm trying to say here? I feel like I'm not wording it great lol

When your Pokemon is wrapped, your main option will be to weave in a faster Pokemon as soon as possible. You're "bleeding" damage the longer your Pokemon stays in, which will build pressure on your end. By switching in a faster Pokemon, the wrapper gets into a situation where it has to end the trapping situation by switching itself, forcing progress on either end. The wrapper can always predict the faster switch-in in the first place as well.

[go over slower Pokemon, as well as AgiliWrap]
I'd note that switching in a faster Pokemon isn't the only way to deal with being Wrapped. Especially in the AgiliWrap section you can talk about staying in and waiting for a miss or PP Stalling by switching around. Of course, these each come with their own disadvantages (relying on RNG for a miss kind of sucks or giving information away about your team with PP Stalling, etc.)

[go over accuracy issues and consistency]
Especially with AgiliSpin! Might be good to have actual numbers in here to show likelihoods of missing two Wraps in a row, average number of hits you can expect, all that. Obviously numbers and numbers and not everyone understands them no matter how well you explain so you could also link replays possibly? Like games where AgiliWrap puts in work vs. games where it flops.

To put this into perspective, here's a play-by-play;
  1. Dragonite uses Wrap against an Exeggutor. Exeggutor can't move for the turn, as it's slower.​
  2. Dragonite now has the option of continuing the attack, switching into a Blizzard user to force Exeggutor out, or switching to a faster Pokemon to pre-empt a faster switch-in. Exeggutor has the option of staying in to scout or switching into a faster Pokemon to try and force damage or status onto the opposing team.​
  3. Dragonite switches out to Starmie, a Pokemon capable of threatening Exeggutor with high damage from Blizzard. Exeggutor stayed in, so now it's forced out unless it can use Sleep Powder at the time. However, this situation could be avoided or changed with the following;​
    • Dragonite could have stayed in to get bonus damage. However, Exeggutor could also have switched here to gain an advantage.​
    • Exeggutor could have switched to something like Chansey to pre-empt Starmie and threaten with Thunder Wave.​
    • Dragonite could have switched to a Pokemon to deal with Chansey, such as Snorlax or Tauros if it was paralyzed or chipped.​
To summarize from this play-by-play, partial trapping generally forces a mindgame onto both opponents once used.
Speaking of replays, maybe put in demonstration replays here to further illustrate your point? Like you know the Enigami Hitmonchan vs. Nidoran-F demonstration replay? Like if possible set up a demonstration like that for each scenario and link to it because I feel like just reading it is confusing with all the hypotheticals.

[Cover the Dragonite Suspect Test as it was the first time any tiering action was taken on the strategy and it's a testament to how controversial the strategy is]
Depending on length, maybe have a point/counterpoint here with pro-ban reasons and anti-ban reasons. I feel like covering the suspect test could be its own article (and I know pac proposed one haha) so like I said, depending on length could be or could not be a good idea.

Fire Spin: :charizard::rapidash::ninetales::moltres::flareon: | :arcanine:
Rapidash is faster than Charizard but other than that you have all the speeds correct

[List notable users with "mini analyses"]
"Oh boy," indeed lol
 

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Worked a bit on this, SBPC is writing a ToxWrap section for me to add in a bit.

While the quote from the mechanics guide does a good job at explaining how partial-trapping works in RBY, might be good to include how it differs in current gens? Not that I know how it works in current gens because I only play RBY but I think it may be helpful. Especially if you're doing a "history" section or whatever with how it was banned in the RBY2k10 days (which I also don't know about because I wasn't around for it lol)
Implemented this, very good point!

I really don't know how to word it but the Wrapper is forced to use the partial trapping move "unless the move was used to completion" maybe? Because yeah if you switch out after the first hit of Wrap you're guaranteed to see Wrap again but if you choose to switch after the second hit you don't know if Wrap is actually over or not so if it's over they can click an attacking move. Do you get what I'm trying to say here? I feel like I'm not wording it great lol
Nah I getcha, added that line to the end.

I'd note that switching in a faster Pokemon isn't the only way to deal with being Wrapped. Especially in the AgiliWrap section you can talk about staying in and waiting for a miss or PP Stalling by switching around. Of course, these each come with their own disadvantages (relying on RNG for a miss kind of sucks or giving information away about your team with PP Stalling, etc.)
Added the other options you mentioned, though I kept with "main option" as the wording as it is definitely the most effective way.

Especially with AgiliSpin! Might be good to have actual numbers in here to show likelihoods of missing two Wraps in a row, average number of hits you can expect, all that. Obviously numbers and numbers and not everyone understands them no matter how well you explain so you could also link replays possibly? Like games where AgiliWrap puts in work vs. games where it flops.
I don't have the numbers on me, summoning Hipmonlee to possibly assist with that aspect. I did note paralysis + accuracy for now though I'm not sure if it's the right number.

Speaking of replays, maybe put in demonstration replays here to further illustrate your point? Like you know the Enigami Hitmonchan vs. Nidoran-F demonstration replay? Like if possible set up a demonstration like that for each scenario and link to it because I feel like just reading it is confusing with all the hypotheticals.
I added demos for the four scenarios I proposed. During the demo collection, Vic choked when demonstrating a way to stop Chansey. Very upset. I'm down for some tournament replays, but I think demos work best for our purpose.

Depending on length, maybe have a point/counterpoint here with pro-ban reasons and anti-ban reasons. I feel like covering the suspect test could be its own article (and I know pac proposed one haha) so like I said, depending on length could be or could not be a good idea.
Not sure about how to handle this, I'll think about it. I think I'll go over it briefly as an aside.

Rapidash is faster than Charizard but other than that you have all the speeds correct
Fixed this. No clue how that got past me.
 

Isa

I've never felt better in my life
is a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnus
"However, the mechanic is often described as "lame", "degenerate", and "braindead" by onlookers. In fact, it's so controversial, that partial trapping has historically been banned in some popular RBY formats, particularly the late RBY 2k10, leading to an entire set of "non-Wrap tiers" being produced. It should be noted that various battle simulators also had issues implementing partial trapping, and this was what partly led to the ban. Regardless, these "non-Wrap tiers" would later be adopted by Pokemon Online, albeit with partial trapping unbanned, and this would be the last we see of any action against the moves. This was never adopted on Smogon, though, so you essentially had two parallel communities competing during the 2010s, and a minor split in metagame development. RBY 2k10 has since died off in favor of Pokemon Perfect though, which has also adopted Smogon tiering, essentially putting an end to any kind of partial trapping ban in competitive RBY. Pokemon Online has also suspended all tiering projects, ending the "non-Wrap tiers" as well."

1. wrapping moves were banned because the founders of rby2k10 (waterwizard and t3h icy) believed those moves to be legitimately broken in their own right, specifically with regards to agitrapping, not because they were "lame" or "degenerate".
2. 2k10 didnt view its tier creation process as "non-wrap tiers" but just as rby tiers. no other active community at the time tiered rby beyond ubers and ou. uu on smogon literally existed and that was it, it was never played. smogon used to have a BL tier but i have a vague memory of asking hipmonlee to _remove_ it to make tiering on PO easier, which was done because RBY lower tiers, as said, simply were not engaged with on smogon at the time (2012-2013).
3. rby2k10 died before pokemon perfect was founded. rby2k10's last serious burst of activity happened in 2012. i dont know when pp was founded but it was certainly not prior to that. rby on pp was also long motivated by specifically not tiering the same way smogon had, so it isn't really precise to say that PP has "adopted" smogon tiering imo. pp independently of smogon chose not to take any action versus wrap.
4. every mention of PO is confusing. "non-wrap tiers" doesnt make much sense in the context of being the only actually existing lower tiers at the time. PO adapted the tier list that they deemed had the most legitimacy at the time, which was 2k10's and not smogon. saying that adapting these tiers was an "action against wrap" doesnt make any sense because wrap didnt factor into the decision at all. wrap was a non-topic for rby lower tiers.
 

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Isa implemented your points to the best of my ability, thanks for the pointers! Think it looks ok?

Also added to the SD+Wrap section, will work more on this later.
 

Isa

I've never felt better in my life
is a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnus
Pp had lower tiers (and maybe still does?) that came into play before smogon. The uu equivalent was called 2U etc. Rest of that segment looks good
 

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Worked some more on this, waiting on SBPC to write his sections at the minute.

For now, the following changes have been made;
  • Moved Role Compendium to after "The Situation", makes way more sense.
  • Expanded on SD+Wrap and AgiliWrap/AgiliSpin details
  • Done my first draft on OU partial trapping
  • With some assistance from Lutra, I wrote some stuff regarding Ubers. Dragonite is basically the only viable choice here.
  • General writing improvements and addition of interesting links.
 

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
To clarify, I haven't forgot about this! I've been gradually editing it as time goes on, and SBPC is gradually helping with UU/NU writing. I'm also looking into an artist to help with art, I have some really nice ideas. I've also changed the name to be "All about RBY Partial Trapping", as I think it's a more fitting name for the massive scope of the article.

Currently, the to-do list is as follows;

Mine;
  • Verify mechanics with Enigami and/or other smog researchers to be sure we've covered absolutely everything.
  • Add AgiliSpin Arcanine somewhere, as it's arguably better than Moltres in areas in Tradebacks. (done)
  • Add Stadium information (done)
  • Add conclusion (done)
SBPC's;
  • Add Pinsir, Moltres, and maybe Tangela to "Effects: UU"
  • Do "Effects: NU"
 
Last edited:

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Update:
ausma has done the artwork for this, bless her heart! We decided to go with the original Red and Green design for it, which features a more elongated design and a cool dorsal fin. It made it much easier to show it using Wrap, which also suddenly makes much more sense! I love the reference to the in-game animation as well, just generally amazing all around.
SBPC is currently settling into a new home which is why his end has taken a hot minute.
 

Plague von Karma

Banned deucer.
Generally this guide has been well-received as-is and been cited as a source for how Wrap-like moves work + their context. Not seen any criticisms in my mind, and given pac and SBPC helped, I suppose this could move to GP shiny finder?
 

Deleted User 465389

Banned deucer.
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Co-writing w/ SBPC & pac
Artwork by ausma, s/o for the cool Red/Green-era Dragonite artwork.



Introduction
One of the most well-known aspects of RBY is how partial trapping — a largely forgotten mechanic only seeing prominent use on Magma Storm Heatran in later generations — is among the most powerful mechanics in the game, working entirely differently. In later generations, partial trapping is generally minor; a Pokemon is prevented from switching out and takes chip damage for a set amount of turns. In RBY, on the other hand, the Pokemon can switch out but are immobilized instead. This makes oft-forgotten moves like Wrap, Bind, Fire Spin, and Clamp all very important moves in the chromatic generation. Some compare RBY partial trapping to Serene Grace Iron Head Jirachi in newer generations, but with the very low damage and accuracy, as well as the amount of punishment even a single miss can receive, the comparisons are arguably a bit sensational. Did you know Dragonite originally looked almost completely different in Red and Green, featuring a more elongated design and a dorsal fin? We did, so we had our resident artist ausma represent that in the artwork for this article!

However, the mechanic is often described as "lame", "degenerate", and "braindead" by onlookers. In fact, it's so controversial that partial trapping has historically been banned in some popular RBY formats due to its arguable brokenness, particularly on the late RBY 2k10, where its own tiers would be produced. These tiers would later be adopted by Pokemon Online, albeit with partial trapping unbanned, and after a vote to keep it such, this would be the last we see of any action against the moves. These tiers and the partial trapping ban were never adopted on Smogon, though, so you essentially had two parallel communities competing during the 2010s, and a minor split in metagame development. RBY 2k10 has since died off, being subseded by Pokemon Perfect, which developed new lower-tiers; these didn't take action on partial trapping and were not adopted by Smogon either. This definitively put an end to any kind of partial trapping ban in competitive RBY. Pokemon Online and Pokemon Perfect have also suspended all tiering projects, allowing Smogon's lower-tiers to flourish now that they're being optimised and enjoyed.

Contrary to popular belief, partial trapping actually has quite a lot of depth to offer, which is one of many reasons why the Wrap ban of old died off. This guide will aim to demonstrate that. For the purposes of accuracy, rather than refer to a Pokemon as "trapped" like how we describe later generations, we'll say "wrapped", as with how the move works, you really need to be aware that you can switch and distinguish the mechanics more.

The Mechanics
To quote the mechanics guide;
RBY partial trapping should be treated like a completely separate entity to modern-day partial trapping. Partial trapping moves—Wrap, Bind, Clamp, and Fire Spin—will deal the same amount of damage every turn, similar to multi-hit moves. Additionally, a user will be locked into the move for 2-5 turns, and a target will be completely immobilized during the ordeal, unable to strike back. In the event of a Pokémon with an immunity, such as Ghost-types against Wrap or Bind, they will be immobilized but will not take damage.
If the trapper switches, the trapped Pokémon will not be able to move, making moves like Wrap pseudo-pivot moves. On the flip side, a faster trapped Pokémon will get to punish the switch-in, as it will be freed the following turn. The trapped Pokémon can also switch out, regardless of Speed. Switching out while trapped will force the opposing trapper to "reuse" the move, restarting the 2-5 turn lock and subtracting one PP, giving a form of PP stall counterplay. If the move is forced to be reused through switching at 0 PP though, it will roll over to 63 (this will not occur if the opponent tries to use the move at 0 PP). With these factors considered, there is quite a bit of depth to partial trapping situations.
If a Pokémon has used Hyper Beam and the opposing partial trapping user misses, the recharge turn is skipped. If the partial trapping move is used and misses while the foe is recharging, though, the opposing Hyper Beam user will automatically reuse Hyper Beam. If they have 0 Hyper Beam PP at this point, the move's PP will also roll over to 63. For example, if Tauros uses its last Hyper Beam and fails to KO a normal Speed Dragonite, then Dragonite uses Wrap and misses, Tauros can immediately move again next turn. If Dragonite uses Agility right after the final Hyper Beam and then uses Wrap next turn and misses, however, Tauros will immediately use Hyper Beam and get 63 more uses.
If a partial trapping move is copied by Mirror Move and succeeds, it works as normal. However, if the trapped Pokémon switches out in a Link Battle, due to Mirror Move forcing the move to fail on one side and having the user continue partial trapping on the other, this will cause a desync.

The Situation
Because of these mechanics, when a Pokemon is "wrapped", the following options are available in the situation;
  • The wrapped Pokemon can switch out.​
    • This forces the wrapper to reuse their partial trapping move if they stay in unless the move was used to completion.​
  • The wrapped Pokemon can stay in, scouting for a pivot or absorbing damage.​
  • The wrapper can switch out.​
    • This leaves the wrapped Pokemon unable to move for the turn if it stays in, acting like a pivot move in later generations.​
  • The wrapper can "press", continuing the attack.​
    • To be clear, each time the move continues, it's a bit of a gamble. There is a 37.5% chance that the wrapper will get 2 or 3 turns each, and a 12.5% chance that the wrapper will get 4 or 5 turns each. The second the wrapping sequence ends, the option to switch out safely is removed. This is mainly done to put Pokemon in range for a follow-up attack.​
All four of these options manipulate the situation in different ways, and playing to this is critical to succeeding with the move. Partial trapping moves can either gain you immense momentum or put you into a terrible spot depending on how you utilise them, and it all comes down to how you switch. It should be noted that neither player knows when their partial trapping move will continue until they click the "Fight" button; if the move continues, player input is removed and the attack continues with a "Communicating!" screen. Otherwise, move selection comes up as normal.

When your Pokemon is wrapped while being slower, your main option will be to weave in a faster Pokemon as soon as possible. You're "bleeding" damage the longer your Pokemon stays in, which will build pressure on your end as you slowly get chipped into range. By switching in a faster Pokemon, the wrapper gets into a situation where it has to end the sequence by switching itself, forcing progress on either end depending on how action is taken. The wrapper can always predict the faster switch-in in the first place as well. You can also stay in and wait for a miss, though this often results in taking a lot of chip damage. Alternatively, switching between your Pokemon to PP stall the wrapper can also work, but this takes quite a while, spreads out a ton of chip damage, reveals your team, and as such should not be one's primary form of counterplay.

The main disadvantage to partial trapping is accuracy, leading to high levels of inconsistency. For example, hitting all 32 of Wrap's PP is mathematically improbable, as it has 84.4% accuracy. Even a single miss can be devastating, opening the Wrap user up to being contested with status or heavy damage. For example, Thunder Wave can put a firm cap on any Wrap spam, giving Wrap a 32.8% chance to effectively fail considering both paralysis and the miss chance, while also making the user slower than any unparalyzed Pokemon. There's also the possibility of Toxic or Leech Seed, which causes the Wrap user to take more damage than it deals, though this is used more in lower-tiers. All of this becomes much worse when you venture outside of Wrap, with Clamp and Bind having 74.6% accuracy and Fire Spin having a pitiful 69.5% accuracy which, as you can imagine, becomes brutally improbable when paralyzed. In fact, being paralyzed is often enough to completely rule out any further wrapping unless the user has Agility.

To put this into perspective, here's a play-by-play;
  1. Dragonite uses Wrap against an Exeggutor. Exeggutor can't move for the turn, as it's slower.​
  2. Dragonite now has the option of continuing the attack, switching into a Blizzard user to force Exeggutor out, or switching to a faster Pokemon to pre-empt a faster switch-in. Exeggutor has the option of staying in to scout or switching into a faster Pokemon to try and force damage or status onto the opposing team.​
  3. Dragonite switches out to Starmie, a Pokemon capable of threatening Exeggutor with high damage from Blizzard. Exeggutor stayed in, so now it's forced out unless it can use Sleep Powder at the time. However, this situation could be avoided or changed with the following;​
To summarize from this play-by-play, partial trapping forces a mindgame onto on both combatants once used. Many, many situations can come from a single Wrap use, making it surprisingly interactive if both players understand how it works and what options are available.

Role Compendium
Ordered by Speed, Tradeback moves are separated by a vertical bar ( | ). Arcanine is just below Ninetales in terms of Speed, being base 95.
  • Bind: :pinsir::onix::tangela:
  • Clamp: :cloyster:
  • Fire Spin: :rapidash::charizard::ninetales::moltres::flareon: | :arcanine:
  • Wrap: :tentacruel::dragonite::arbok::victreebel::lickitung:
  • Agility + Fire Spin: :rapidash::moltres: | :arcanine:
  • Agility + Wrap: :dragonite:
  • Swords Dance + Bind: :pinsir::tangela:
  • Swords Dance + Wrap: :tentacruel::victreebel::lickitung:

Boosting with partial trapping
Swords Dance
Users: Pinsir, Tentacruel, Tangela, Victreebel

Since a critical hit wrapping move always deals the same amount of damage for each "tick", you can imagine what Swords Dance can provide for Wrap and Bind users. Dealing much higher chip damage per turn, it's possible to run rings around paralyzed teams and build a strong advantage very quickly. This arguably makes up for the accuracy issues, factoring in the damage. It's also important to note that Swords Dance can reapply the Speed drop from paralysis, so it can also be a nice safety net should the user also be paralyzed. Finally, with Hyper Beam also being boosted by Swords Dance, with backing from partial trapping, a Pokemon can be taken down very quickly without a chance to fight back.

However, Swords Dance + partial trapping has never been a standard; this is not only because of the users being iffy but also because of the setup required. Partial trapping really appreciates Speed to prop up the user, preventing them from being hit before the wrapping begins, and thus requires paralysis support. Each user barring Tentacruel has some kind of issue with Speed or fragility, so they're even more dependent on this support to function. There's also the problem of having to spend a turn to set up while not having guaranteed payoff after; as mentioned before, the accuracy of these moves is problematic and will crop up. Ergo, you can end up with two turns of doing absolutely nothing, which can mean everything for the opponent.

Examples
View attachment 349661
Victreebel doesn't always use Swords Dance, but it is the only Swords Dance + Wrap user to hit the OU tier in OU. It's not hard to see why this set can be potent, with its high Attack stat letting its +2 Wrap rack up serious damage to most of the tier. Should threats like Alakazam and Starmie get paralyzed, it's very difficult to come back from a set-up Victreebel, often only losing due to its awful consistency, which has led to it using different sets. Regardless, Victreebel's inconsistency as a whole - not just with Swords Dance - has been its undoing in 2021, with it potentially dropping back to UU soon. It also has issues with fitting Hyper Beam onto its sets, often wanting Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder, and Wrap in its moveset at minimum.

View attachment 349662
Tentacruel is the face of RBY UU, dictating how games progress through its sheer power and fast Wrap. Naturally, it's a strong candidate for a Swords Dance + Wrap set, which has some minor OU history in the mid-2000s as well, though it sucks in modern OU because of an abundance of fast Thunder Wave users. However, being the fastest user of the combination gives it some strong points in its favor in RBY UU, acting as a scary late-game sweeper. This is also Tentacruel's best bet when it comes to blowing past the bulky Water-types that attempt to revolt against its tyranny, swiftly cutting into their bulk and allowing for a quick finisher if it carries Hyper Beam. However, like Victreebel, this set is often forgone in favor of Rest sets, guaranteeing mileage from its presence throughout the game rather than relying on a late-game sweep that Articuno or Persian can provide just fine. It's still very usable, though, and has seen high-level success, so teams that want Tentacruel to blow past bulky Water-types like Vaporeon can benefit heavily from its presence.

View attachment 356313
Pinsir has found a way to be usable in OU, UU, and NU, although never being a top-tier threat. Being the Swords Dance + partial trapping user with the highest Attack stat, Pinsir has the ability to wreak havoc, dealing roughly 9% per Bind tick, quickly putting Pokemon into Hyper Beam or Slash range. With a half decent Speed stat to boot, it's very capable of locking down endgames with just a few Pokemon paralyzed. However, it's also very inconsistent, with Bind and Hyper Beam both often missing before it can claim a game. It's also absolutely destroyed by each tier's resident Ghost-type, which it can't touch outside of Seismic Toss or pivoting out with Bind, a weakness no other wrapper has.

Agility
Users: Dragonite, Rapidash, Moltres. Arcanine gains the combination of Fire Spin + Agility via Tradebacks.

When boosting Speed alongside partial trapping, you remove the main form of counterplay to the strategy: switching in faster Pokemon. This gives the wrapper full control over the game, essentially providing you with free chip damage for what can be up to 32 turns. This can be further extended if the opponent accidentally underflows your PP to 63. As one would expect, this strategy is very controversial, as this essentially forces the victim to PP stall the partial trapping move until it's over. Many have argued the combination to be uncompetitive and campaigned for its ban, though nothing has come of this outside of a suspect test we'll go over later.

Despite its reputation, however, this strategy rarely sees its peaks. While it has the potential to be extremely strong, like with Swords Dance, you have to spend not only a turn setting up, but also roll what's an have a 84.4% hit rate at best while getting long wrapping sequences. Ergo, the "two turns of nothing" problem comes back to bite the this strategy, only this time with much heavier punishment. Thus, not only is it possible to disrupt the setup on the turn with moves like Thunder Wave, Toxic, or even a strong super effective move, it may not even work when you get to set up. It's a high-risk, inconsistent reward strategy, though it still sees use by teams that can afford the risk, and remains a strong option that warps lower-tiers.

Examples
View attachment 350262
Dragonite is the face of Agility + partial trapping, becoming so controversial in RBY UU that it was suspect tested in May 2021, the first tiering action the tier had seen since BL's removal in 2011. With its titanic Attack stat, it's very capable of dealing massive damage to an opposing team with AgiliWrap. Since it also happens to have the best most accurate partial trapping move accuracy-wise, plus an absolutely incredible movepool letting it choose its checks, it's definitely the most consistent user of the strategy as well. However, because of the aforementioned issues, the suspect test ended in a No Ban vote, and Dragonite has also begun to diversify.

View attachment 356317
Moltres has been usable in every RBY tier — even Ubers — thanks to its ridiculous highs. It has a titanic Special stat to bolster its Fire Spin, as well as the strongest unboosted special attack in the game in its Fire Blast. This, combined with respectable bulk and Attack stat, have enabled it to be an interesting late-game sweeper. These qualities have made it a very strong NU threat as in particular, which sees use on a wide variety of teams with even Rest sets popping up now and again. However, while it has those highs, it's never been chilling with Mewtwo and Mew because of its awful consistency, which is the worst out of all Agility + partial trapping users. No move Moltres regularly uses — Fire Blast, Fire Spin, and Hyper Beam — has good accuracy, meaning it can and will miss at least once during a game. That one opening is often more than enough for it to get effectively OHKOed by paralysis, or see its defensive typing get exploited by the rampant Blizzards and Thunderbolts running around Kanto(might change ‘kanto’ to ‘RBY’ or something to this effect, but it’s not necessary).

Effects: OU
Partial trapping's effects on OU are largely limited by the users themselves. Their Speed is often not that high; this lets Alakazam, Starmie, Jolteon, and even Tauros or Zapdos perform as naturally good checks to the strategy with their Speed and potential to paralyze wrappers. Additionally, many Pokemon are monumentally bulky, such as Chansey, Snorlax, and Cloyster, allowing them to sit down and absorb the hits until a miss happens. Thus, partial trapping is mostly seen as a fringe strategy, but still a good one for how high the payoff can be. There have also been periods where partial trapping is very dominant though — particularly in 2018 to 2019 — which we'll go over in a bit.

Cloyster is the most common user of partial trapping in RBY OU, and it's not even close. Its defensive presence and good Speed relative to the OU staples allows it to serve as a decent non-Thunderbolt Tauros check while pivoting against the slower, bulkier presences you see on every team, namely Snorlax and Chansey. Being able to lock down these Pokemon is very important, especially in regards to Snorlax, whose early-game presence will frequently decide where the game's later momentum will swing. Cloyster is most commonly seen alongside Pokemon that profit from being switched in safely but are otherwise flawed; Jolteon specifically is a good deterrent to Starmie, which is the foundation for the famous "JoltCloy" core that Heroic Troller produced and succeeded with during 2019 to 2020.

Victreebel's influence over OU is not something seen nowadays, but the scars of its time in the spotlight during 2018 and 2019 remain. Being faster than your regular figureheads—notably Chansey, Exeggutor, and Snorlax—allowed it to take over games very quickly, decimating the now-antiquated "Big 4" teams pretty much on its own. This was mainly because people would often trade Thunder Wave on Turn 1, something that became much less frequent when Victreebel was able to profit from the typical absorbers losing their Speed, namely Starmie and Alakazam. Victreebel's heavy-handed response to these common meta trends forced players to adapt, and they begrudgingly did. Sing Chansey is often switching in on Turn 1 Thunder Waves instead, so it is much more difficult to spread paralysis for Victreebel to take over. It still can and it's by far one of the best non-OU Pokemon out there, but it's nowhere near a staple like it was back then. Regardless, Victreebel single-handedly led to the modern RBY metagame where sleep leads are in their prime and Exeggutor is seen as droppable. Few Pokemon in the entire franchise, let alone RBY, can claim they turned a 20+ year old metagame on its head.

Dragonite has always been a controversial character in tiering, with posts dating back to 2006 complaining about its antics. It's been OU-tiered a few times because of it on various websites, but never truly stayed there because of the rampant Blizzards and Thunder Waves in its way, not to mention the bulky metagame staples. However, AgiliWrap isn't all Dragonite can do here, and to say otherwise is a gross misunderstanding. In recent years, Dragonite has seen much diversification with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Blizzard / Hyper Beam, which allows it to form a catch-22 between Wrap + Thunder Wave. The main counterplay to Wrap is to switch in a faster Pokemon, but doing this against Dragonite puts you at risk of being paralyzed. Dragonite is also capable of using Surf to deal with Rhydon more definitively, preventing it from safely absorbing Wrap. Dragonite also saw much use alongside Victreebel during its prime, forming the popular "VicNite" core that would sometimes even drop Chansey in favor of going on an all-out offense.

Moltres has seen sporadic usage over the years at top level, including the recent SPL XII. The second its walls — Chansey, Starmie, and Slowbro — are removed, it can often go ham on the opposing team in a similar manner to Articuno. However, it's among the worst viable users of partial trapping for the exact same reasons as Dragonite: a horrible defensive typing, debilitated by paralysis, and horrific consistency. What really lets it down, though, is accidentally thawing a frozen Chansey or something Pokemon with its Fire Blast. This can be enough to lose a game in modern RBY, and possessing more weaknesses and a worse movepool can be problematic as well. Regardless, when these flaws are looked past and accounted for, it's one of the scariest low-ranked Pokemon in the tier, brutally tearing teams apart through sheer damage output if all goes to plan.

Pinsir is another Pokemon that has seen scarce usage, but is considered to be viable in OU for its late-game sweeping potential. Swords Dance + Bind, combined with a Speed stat quite high relative to OU, enables Pinsir to lock down teams once their faster Pokemon are paralysed. Its Hyper Beam is nothing to scoff at, OHKOing Alakazam, Chansey, Jolteon, Jynx, and Victreebel at +2. With a strong Bind to chip other Pokemon into range, Pinsir can be seen using one or two Binds to put an opposing Pokemon into range right away. However, it's severely lacking in the movepool department — not even having STAB or coverage to back itself up — making it lose to Gengar and Rock-types outright without Seismic Toss or the unreliable Submission, respectively. It's not got any special bulk to write home about either, which is exposed severely by all the fast special attackers in the tier. Ergo, Pinsir is quite rare, but usable. At least it has a use in SPL VII to its name!

Effects: Uber
Because of Mewtwo and Mew's existence and teams demanding Chansey and Snorlax usage, Uber teams often feature many Pokemon with high HP and overall respectable bulk, making partial trapping much more difficult to justify. Both of the Ubers are extremely fast, and Mewtwo is often capable of just OHKOing whatever wrapper is thrown at it. Ergo, regular wrapping is virtually nonexistent, as they just aren't fast or bulky enough to contest the despots at the top of the tier. With ridiculous Special on every viable Pokemon, AgiliSpin is also out. This leaves AgiliWrap to try and make an impact.

View attachment 356337
The sole arguably viable wrapper in Ubers is Dragonite, as a result of its immense Attack and the ability to set up on Mew if it only has Earthquake. These can allow Dragonite to attempt AgiliWrap and try to score free damage on the opposing team, which can be helpful. However, you'll often want a Self-Destruct Mewtwo to at least dispatch opposing Mewtwo if you want a shot at pulling this off, as it's very capable of absorbing the hits, farming Amnesia boosts, or just outright removing Dragonite using Ice Beam.


Effects: UU

Affectionately referred to by RBY UU players as "The Great Dictator" or something similar, it's absolutely no secret that Tentacruel utilizes Wrap as a method of creating a hellish grip on the tier. Its influence can even be tracked down to almost single-handedly determining the viability of Pokemon, such as Electabuzz being UU over Raichu due to their Speed tier difference alone. Various others, such as Charizard and Nidoking, are prevented from succeeding in part due to the existence of Tentacruel, while Moltres has it's its usage reduced to a niche. In fact, Tentacruel itself played a role in the unbanning of Articuno and Moltres alongside Omastar. Wrap allows Tentacruel to serve as an incredible lead, breaking games into the user's advantage from the momentum it gives, resulting in many UU games starting with a Tentacruel mirror match. However, Tentacruel can also run a Swords Dance + Wrap set to clean up late game late-game, allowing it to blow past checks like Vaporeon and Dewgong rather than get stopped short. But that's just the surface of this incredibly powerful Pokemon, as its Special stat gives it great damage outside of Wrap, and its Poison typing makes it immune to opposing Toxic, a unique trait amongst wrappers. Counterplay to Tentacruel comes in the form of faster pokemon such as Dugtrio, Electabuzz, and Kadabra, which must be incredibly careful not to get paralyzed at other points in the match in order to preserve their Speed tier, all while trying to paralyze an opposing Tentacruel to make it slightly less oppressive, slowing it to a crawl and allowing other Pokemon to effectively check it as well. Few Pokemon have had such an effect on a tier, but Tentacruel has been seen as a healthy top tier among enthusiasts for the interactions it presents.


As its suspect test in 2021 implies, Dragonite is one of the most important Pokemon to immediately check due to how powerful its sets are; they range widely in versatility, with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Body Slam / Hyper Beam or Blizzard, Agility sweeper sets, Gyarados-like sets, and more all seeing some kind of usage. However, no set is as controversially powerful as its AgiliWrap set. Notorious for its ability to steal games within just a few turns. Dragonite's Wrap is one of the strongest in the entire game alone, and with a boost in Speed, allows it to completely control the game and be nearly impossible to defensively answer once set up outside of dumb luck. Toxic is one of a few ways to completely shut down a sweep, as the passive damage prevents it from being a permanent stay, while offensive answers such as Articuno and Tentacruel can shut it down with their access to Blizzard. Because of the sheer threat level of this set, Pokemon like Persian, Dodrio, Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, and more are almost mandated to run Toxic, lest teams get shut down and chipped into range for a KO by Dragonite's teammates. This set, while incredibly dominant, isn't the only trick Dragonite carries, however. Paralysis spreading access with both Thunder Wave and Body Slam make Dragonite an incredible utility choice while also slowing things down for its powerful Wrap to whittle down at answers that have been slowed. Overall, Dragonite is a definitive piece of RBY UU; while Tentacruel gives it the moniker of "Wrap tier", Dragonite actualizes the term.

Effects: NU
View attachment 381131View attachment 381132View attachment 381133View attachment 381134
Unlike UU, where Wrap is the dominant partial trapping move, in NU Fire Spin is the name of the game. The conditions of NU finally allow for all of the Fire-types to be viable, meaning that a lot of high power Pokemon are condensed into the tier. This makes Fire Spin incredibly valuable, dealing impressive STAB chip damage. In addition, the blazing speed of nearly every Fire Spin user effectively makes it so that each viable Pokemon with access to it has the might of the infamous “AgiliWrap” strategy, but without the need for a setup turn. Fire Spin’s inconsistency is the only thing keeping it in check. Charizard’s blazing fast speed, fantastic coverage, and ability to pivot around the opponent with the aforementioned Fire Spin makes it incredibly hard to break momentum that the Charizard user obtains, allowing it to escape its checks like Blastoise while also chipping it down for its teammates. It's also mostly thanks to Charizard’s access to Fire Spin and Earthquake that an entirely new playstyle arises in NU, that being the infamous “Fire Spam”, a strategy where multiple speedy Fire-type Pokemon utilise a combination of Fire Spin and Toxic to run through their checks and reduce interactivity as much as possible. This success of Fire Spin makes Toxic a regular part of the metagame, adding an entirely new dimension of strategy to the tier.

View attachment 381135
Pinsir is most successful in NU, complimenting access to Bind with one of the largest offensive presences of the tier thanks to Swords Dance. It largely reprises its role in UU, but with much higher viability in general. +2 Hyper Beam scores OHKOs OHKOes on Mr. Mime, Dragonair, Blastoise, and Clefable with minor chip damage from Bind. However, Pinsir can struggle in the metagame at times thanks to the newfound viability of Fire-types, where Bind doesn't help it as much due to Pinsir being much slower.

Fire Spin Arcanine: The Lost Wrapper
View attachment 360672The only Pokemon to get a partial trapping move via the Time Capsule in GSC is Arcanine, which gains Fire Spin. This is a massive boost to its utility, as it also has Agility, letting it abuse the AgiliSpin combo alongside its very high Attack stat. It doesn't have to just do this, either, as almost any combination of Fire Blast, Fire Spin, Body Slam, Hyper Beam and Agility is viable in some respects. It also gains Headbutt through Tradebacks, which gives it the potential to exploit paralyzed Pokemon more effectively, though this is often inferior to Body Slam and Hyper Beam without dedicated teambuilding.

Arcanine mainly competes with Moltres as an AgiliSpin user in formats Tradebacks are allowed in, which has a higher Special stat, better bulk, and an Earthquake immunity. Arcanine, on the other hand, has access to Body Slam plus higher Speed and Attack stats. Because of this, while Arcanine deals less Fire Spin damage per turn, it's arguably better at closing out interactions against Pokemon with less Defense, such as Alakazam or Chansey. However, to say it replaces Moltres would be a lie, considering the sheer power it has compared to Arcanine overall. Regardless, it's certainly a serviceable option and a much better Pokemon, no longer having to be seen as "that one Fire-type without Fire Spin".

Changes in Pokemon Stadium
Introduced in the Japanese Pokemon Stadium and kept for the game we got internationally, these games change things up a bit in regards to partial trapping. These changes are as follows;
  • The 1/256 accuracy bug is fixed, indirectly making the moves more consistent. Thus, Wrap has 85% accuracy, Bind and Clamp have 75% accuracy, and Fire Spin has 70% accuracy.
  • There is no longer any indication as to whether either player will see partial trapping continue, as the Fight menu no longer exists. Pressing Fight will always bring up the move menu, so you never know if the trapping continues until the command is issued.
  • If either player switches, the turn automatically ends and the wrapper isn't forced to use the move again. If both players switch, the same happens; neither player is "blocked" from switching. Essentially, both players get the pivot effect.
These changes essentially make partial trapping moves into a phasing phazing type of thing, though in quite a bad way. It essentially gives the opponent safe entry for their Pokemon, making switching a faster Pokemon in much easier and limiting the amount of chip damage they have to take before they have a chance to fight the wrapper. It does, however, make the moves a bit harder to PP stall, as the wrapper is no longer "forced" to use the partial trapping move upon switching. This can be seen as a slight boost to AgiliWrap strategies, as the commitment behind the move isn't as large and can always be abandoned in the event a switch-in is more easily beaten by something else. However, metagame relevance in this area is largely unexplored.

Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide has successfully delivered the interesting nuances and history behind RBY partial trapping, as well as how to counterplay it properly. While a very misunderstood mechanic, it can be very powerful and interactive in the hands of experienced players, and is something people should explore more. If you're interested in a tier where you can see the mechanics in full form, RBY UU is perhaps the most relevant, considering its resident monarch is the most notorious user of it. Give it a shot!
good job! :blobthumbsup:
 

Adeleine

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Introduction
One of the most well-known aspects of RBY is how partial trapping—a largely forgotten mechanic only seeing prominent use on Magma Storm Heatran in later generations—is among the most powerful mechanics in the game, working entirely differently from modern moves. In case you didn't know, in later generations, partial trapping is generally minor; a Pokemon is prevented from switching and takes chip damage for a set amount of turns. In RBY, on the other hand, Pokemon can switch out but are immobilized instead while still taking chip damage. This makes oft-forgotten moves like Wrap, Bind, Fire Spin, and Clamp all very important moves in the chromatic generation. Some compare RBY partial trapping to Serene Grace Iron Head Jirachi in newer generations, but with the very low damage and accuracy, as well as the amount of punishment even a single miss can receive, the comparisons are arguably a bit sensational. Speaking of cross-generational difference, did you know Wrap master Dragonite originally looked almost completely different in Red and Green, featuring a more elongated design and a dorsal fin? We did, so we had our resident artist ausma represent that in the artwork for this article!

However, the mechanic is often described as "lame", "degenerate", and "braindead" by onlookers. In fact, it's so controversial that partial trapping has historically been banned in some popular RBY formats due to its arguable brokenness, particularly on in (or would it be like "on... 2k10 simulator, which..."? up to you) the late RBY 2k10, where its own tiers would be produced. 2k10 community, which produced its own tiers. These tiers would later be adopted by Pokemon Online, albeit with partial trapping unbanned, and after a vote to keep it such, this would be a later vote kept it as such, which is the last we see of any action against the moves. These tiers and the partial trapping ban were never adopted on Smogon, though, so you essentially had two parallel communities competing during the 2010s, and creating a minor split in metagame development. RBY 2k10 has since died off, being subseded superseded by Pokemon Perfect, which developed new lower tiers; (removed hyphen) these didn't take action on partial trapping and were not adopted by Smogon either. This definitively put an end to any kind of partial trapping ban in competitive RBY. Pokemon Online and Pokemon Perfect have also suspended all tiering projects, allowing Smogon's lower tiers (removed hyphen) to flourish now that they're being optimised optimized and enjoyed.

Contrary to popular belief, partial trapping actually has quite a lot of depth to offer, which is one of many reasons why the Wrap ban of old died off. This guide will aim to demonstrate that. For the purposes of accuracy, rather than refer to a Pokemon as "trapped" like how we describe later generations, we'll say "wrapped", as with how the move works, you really need to be aware that you can switch and distinguish the mechanics more.

The Mechanics
To quote the mechanics guide: (semicolon -> colon)
RBY partial trapping should be treated like a completely separate entity to modern-day partial trapping. Partial trapping moves—Wrap, Bind, Clamp, and Fire Spin—will deal the same amount of damage every turn, similar to multi-hit moves. Additionally, a user will be locked into the move for 2-5 turns, and a target will be completely immobilized during the ordeal, unable to strike back. In the event of a Pokémon with an immunity, such as Ghost-types against Wrap or Bind, they will be immobilized but will not take damage.
If the trapper switches, the trapped Pokémon will not be able to move, making moves like Wrap pseudo-pivot moves. On the flip side, a faster trapped Pokémon will get to punish the switch-in, as it will be freed the following turn. The trapped Pokémon can also switch out, regardless of Speed. Switching out while trapped will force the opposing trapper to "reuse" the move, restarting the 2-5 turn lock and subtracting one PP, giving a form of PP stall counterplay. If the move is forced to be reused through switching at 0 PP though, it will roll over to 63 (this will not occur if the opponent tries to use the move at 0 PP). With these factors considered, there is quite a bit of depth to partial trapping situations.
If a Pokémon has used Hyper Beam and the opposing partial trapping user misses, the recharge turn is skipped. If the partial trapping move is used and misses while the foe is recharging, though, the opposing Hyper Beam user will automatically reuse Hyper Beam. If they have 0 Hyper Beam PP at this point, the move's PP will also roll over to 63. For example, if Tauros uses its last Hyper Beam and fails to KO a normal Speed Dragonite, then Dragonite uses Wrap and misses, Tauros can immediately move again next turn. If Dragonite uses Agility right after the final Hyper Beam and then uses Wrap next turn and misses, however, Tauros will immediately use Hyper Beam and get 63 more uses.
If a partial trapping move is copied by Mirror Move and succeeds, it works as normal. However, if the trapped Pokémon switches out in a Link Battle, due to Mirror Move forcing the move to fail on one side and having the user continue partial trapping on the other, this will cause a desync.

The Situation
Because of these mechanics, when a Pokemon is "wrapped", the following options are available in the situation; available:
  • The wrapped Pokemon can switch out.​
    • This forces the wrapper to reuse their partial trapping move if they stay in, (AC) unless the move was used to completion. just completed its last turn. (I imagine this still makes sense?)
  • The wrapped Pokemon can stay in, scouting for a pivot switch from the wrapper or absorbing damage.​
  • The wrapper can switch out.​
    • This leaves the wrapped Pokemon unable to move for the turn if it stays in, acting like a pivot move in later generations.​
  • The wrapper can "press", continuing the attack.​
    • To be clear, each time the move continues, is reused, it's a bit of a gamble. There is a 37.5% chance that the wrapper will get 2 or 3 turns each, and a 12.5% chance that the wrapper will get 4 or 5 turns each. The second the each wrapping sequence ends, the option to switch out safely is removed. This removed for that turn. Continuing the attack is mainly done to put Pokemon in range for a follow-up attack.​
All four of these options manipulate the situation in different ways, and playing to this them is critical to succeeding with the move. Partial trapping moves can either gain you immense momentum or put you into a terrible spot depending on how you utilise utilize them, and it all comes down to how you switch. It should be noted that neither player knows when whether (I imagine?) their partial trapping move will continue until they click the "Fight" button; if the move continues, player input is removed and the attack continues with a "Communicating!" screen. Otherwise, move selection comes up as normal.

When If your Pokemon is wrapped while being slower, your main option will be to weave in a faster Pokemon as soon as possible. You're "bleeding" damage the longer your Pokemon stays in, which will build pressure on your end as you slowly get chipped into range of KO moves. By switching in a faster Pokemon, the wrapper gets into a situation where it has you force the wrapper to end the sequence by switching itself, denying a safe pivot and possibly (I imagine?) forcing progress on either end depending on how action is taken. Remember that the wrapper can always predict the faster switch-in in the first place as well. You can also stay in and wait for a miss, though this often results in taking a lot of chip damage. Alternatively, switching between your Pokemon to PP stall can also work, but this takes quite a while, spreads out a ton of chip damage, and reveals your team, and as such so it should not be one's your primary form of counterplay.

The main disadvantage to partial trapping is accuracy, leading which leads to high levels of inconsistency. For example, hitting all 32 of Wrap's PP is mathematically improbable, as it has 84.4% accuracy. Even a single miss can be devastating, opening the Wrap user up to being contested with status or heavy damage. For example, Thunder Wave can put a firm cap on any firmly end most hopes for Wrap spam, giving Wrap a 32.8% chance to effectively fail considering both paralysis and the miss chance, while also making the user slower than any unparalyzed Pokemon. Agility is often required to make any further wrapping worthwhile when paralyzed. There's also the possibility of Toxic or Leech Seed, which causes the Wrap user to take more damage than it deals, though this is these are used more in lower tiers. (removed hyphen) All of this becomes these consistency problems become much worse when you venture outside of Wrap specifically, with Clamp and Bind having 74.6% accuracy and Fire Spin having a pitiful 69.5% accuracy, (AC) which, as you can imagine, becomes brutally improbable inconsistent when paralyzed. In fact, being paralyzed is often enough to completely rule out any further wrapping unless the user has Agility.

To put this wrapping's benefits and risks (or something) into perspective, here's a play-by-play;
  1. Dragonite uses Wrap against an Exeggutor. Exeggutor can't move for the turn, as it's slower.​
  2. Dragonite now has the options of continuing the attack, switching into a Blizzard user to force Exeggutor out, or switching to a faster Pokemon to pre-empt a faster switch-in. Exeggutor has the option of staying in to scout or switching into a faster Pokemon to try and force damage or status onto the opposing team.​
  3. Dragonite switches out to Starmie, a Pokemon capable of heavily threatening Exeggutor with high damage from Blizzard. Exeggutor stayed in, so now it's forced out unless Sleep Clause isn't active and it can use Sleep Powder at the time. However, this situation could have been avoided or changed with the following;​
To summarize from this play-by-play, partial trapping forces a mindgame onto both combatants once used. Many, many situations can come from a single Wrap use, making it surprisingly interactive if both players understand how it works and what options are available.

Role Compendium
Ordered by Speed; (comma -> SC) Tradeback moves are separated by a vertical bar ( | ). Arcanine is just below Ninetales in terms of Speed, being base 95. (maybe you don't need spaces after the colons bc the sprites already have whitespace? up to you)
  • Bind: :pinsir::onix::tangela:
  • Clamp: :cloyster:
  • Fire Spin: :rapidash::charizard::ninetales::moltres::flareon: | :arcanine:
  • Wrap: :tentacruel::dragonite::arbok::victreebel::lickitung:
  • Agility + Fire Spin: :rapidash::moltres: | :arcanine:
  • Agility + Wrap: :dragonite:
  • Swords Dance + Bind: :pinsir::tangela:
  • Swords Dance + Wrap: :tentacruel::victreebel::lickitung:

Boosting with Partial Trapping
Swords Dance
Users: Pinsir, Tentacruel, Tangela, Victreebel

Since a critical hit wrapping move always deals the same amount of damage for each "tick", you can imagine what Swords Dance can provide Wrap and Bind users. Dealing much higher chip damage per turn, it's possible to run rings around paralyzed teams and build a strong advantage very quickly. This (what is "this"? depending on what you put here, "factoring in the damage" could be redundant) arguably makes up for the accuracy issues, factoring in the damage. It's also important to note that Swords Dance can reapply the foe's Speed drop from paralysis, so it can also be a nice safety net should the user also be paralyzed. Finally, with Hyper Beam also being boosted by Swords Dance, with backing from partial trapping, a Pokemon can be taken down very quickly without a chance to fight back.

However, Swords Dance + partial trapping has never been a standard; this is not only because of the users being iffy but also because of the setup required. Partial trapping really appreciates Speed to prop up the user, preventing them from being hit before the wrapping begins, and thus requires paralysis support. Each user barring Tentacruel has some kind of issue with Speed or fragility, so they're even more dependent on this support to function. There's also the problem of having to spend a turn to set up while not without having guaranteed payoff after; as mentioned before, the accuracy of these moves is problematic and will crop up. Ergo, you can end up with two turns of doing absolutely nothing, which can mean everything for the opponent.

Examples
View attachment 349661
Victreebel doesn't always use Swords Dance, but it is the only Swords Dance + Wrap user to hit the OU tier. It's not hard to see why this set can be potent, with its high Attack stat letting its +2 Wrap rack up serious damage to on most of the tier. Should threats like Alakazam and Starmie get paralyzed, it's very difficult to come back from a set-up Victreebel, often only losing which often only loses due to its awful consistency, which has led to it using different sets. Regardless, Victreebel's inconsistency as a whole—not just with Swords Dance—has been its undoing in 2021, with it potentially dropping back to UU soon. It also has issues with fitting Hyper Beam onto its sets, often wanting Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder, and Wrap in its moveset at minimum.

View attachment 349662
Tentacruel is the face of RBY UU, dictating how games progress through its sheer power and fast Wrap. Naturally, it's a strong candidate for a Swords Dance + Wrap set, which has some minor OU history in the mid-2000s as well, though it sucks in modern OU because of an abundance of fast Thunder Wave users. However, Tentacruel being the fastest user of the combination gives it the set some strong points in its favor in RBY UU, acting as making it a scary late-game sweeper. This set is also Tentacruel's best bet when it comes to blowing past the bulky Water-types that attempt to revolt against its tyranny, swiftly cutting into their bulk and allowing for a quick finisher if it carries Hyper Beam. However, somewhat like Victreebel, this set is often forgone in favor of Rest sets, guaranteeing mileage from its Tentacruel's presence throughout the game rather than relying on a late-game sweep that sweep, which Articuno or Persian can provide just fine. It's still very usable, though, and has seen high-level success, so teams that want Tentacruel to blow past bulky Water-types like Vaporeon can benefit heavily from its presence. this set.

View attachment 356313
Pinsir has found a way to be usable in OU, UU, and NU, although never being as a top-tier threat. Being the Swords Dance + partial trapping user with the highest Attack stat, Pinsir has the ability to wreak havoc, dealing roughly 9% per Bind tick, quickly putting Pokemon into Hyper Beam or Slash range. With a half decent Speed stat to boot, it's very capable of locking down endgames with just a few Pokemon paralyzed. However, it's also very inconsistent, with Bind and Hyper Beam both often missing before it can claim a game. It's also absolutely destroyed by each tier's resident Ghost-type, which it can't touch outside of Seismic Toss or pivoting out with Bind, a weakness no other wrapper has.

Agility
Users: Dragonite, Rapidash, Moltres. Arcanine gains the combination of Fire Spin + Agility via Tradebacks. (I imagine?)

When boosting Speed alongside partial trapping, you remove the main form of counterplay to the strategy: switching in faster Pokemon. This gives the wrapper full control over the game, essentially providing you with free chip damage for what can be up to 32 turns. This can be further extended if the opponent accidentally underflows your PP to 63. As one would expect, this strategy is very controversial, as this essentially forces the victim to PP stall the partial trapping move until it's over. Many have argued the combination to be uncompetitive and campaigned for its ban, though nothing has come of this, (AC) outside of a suspect test we'll go over later.

Despite its reputation, however, this strategy rarely sees its peaks. While it has the potential to be extremely strong, like with Swords Dance, you have to spend not only a turn setting up, but also roll handle what's an 84.4% hit rate at best while getting throughout long wrapping sequences. Ergo, the "two turns of nothing" problem risk comes back to bite the strategy, only this time with much heavier punishment. (maybe should elaborate on why the punishment is heavier now? i didnt see it) Thus, not only is it possible to disrupt the your setup on the Agility turn with moves like Thunder Wave, Toxic, or even a strong super effective move, it may not even work when you get to set up. It's a high-risk, inconsistent reward strategy, though it still sees use by teams that can afford the risk, and it remains a strong option that warps lower tiers. (removed hyphen)

Examples
View attachment 350262
Dragonite is the face of Agility + partial trapping, becoming so controversial in RBY UU that it was suspect tested in May 2021, the first tiering action the tier had seen since BL's removal in 2011. With its titanic Attack stat, it's very capable of dealing massive damage to an opposing team with AgiliWrap. Since it also happens to have the best partial trapping move accuracy-wise, plus an absolutely incredible movepool letting that lets it choose its checks, it's definitely the most consistent user of the strategy as well. However, because of the aforementioned issues, the suspect test ended in a No Ban vote, and Dragonite has also begun to diversify.

View attachment 356317
Moltres has been usable in every RBY tier—even Ubers—thanks to its ridiculous highs. It has a titanic Special stat to bolster its Fire Spin, as well as the strongest unboosted special attack in the game in its Fire Blast. This, combined with respectable bulk and Attack, have has enabled it to be an interesting late-game sweeper. These qualities have made it a very strong NU threat as in particular, which sees seeing use on a wide variety of teams, (AC) with even Rest sets popping up now and again. However, while it has those highs, it's never been chilling with Mewtwo and Mew because of its awful consistency, which is the worst out of all Agility + partial trapping users. No moves Moltres regularly uses— Fire Blast, Fire Spin, and Hyper Beam—have good accuracy, meaning it can and will miss at least once during a game. That one opening is often more than enough for it to get effectively OHKOed by paralysis, or see its defensive typing get exploited by the rampant Blizzards and Thunderbolts running around Kanto.

Effects: OU
Partial trapping's effects on OU are largely limited by the users themselves. Their Speed is often not that high; this lets Alakazam, Starmie, Jolteon, and even Tauros or Zapdos perform as naturally good checks to the strategy with their Speed and often potential to paralyze wrappers. Additionally, many Pokemon are monumentally bulky, such as Chansey, Snorlax, and Cloyster, allowing them to sit down and absorb the hits until a miss happens. Thus, partial trapping is mostly seen as a fringe strategy, but still a good viable one for how high the payoff can be. There have also been periods where partial trapping is very dominant, (AC) though—particularly in 2018 to 2019—which we'll go over in a bit.

Cloyster is the most common user of partial trapping in RBY OU, and it's not even close. Its defensive presence and good Speed relative to the OU staples allows it to serve as a decent non-Thunderbolt Tauros check while pivoting against the slower, bulkier presences you see on every team, namely Snorlax and Chansey. Being able to lock down these Pokemon is very important, especially in regards to Snorlax, whose Snorlax, which has the early-game presence will to frequently decide where the game's later momentum will swing. Cloyster is most commonly seen alongside Pokemon that profit from being switched in safely but are otherwise flawed; Jolteon specifically is a good deterrent to Starmie, which is the foundation for the famous "JoltCloy" core that Heroic Troller produced and succeeded with during 2019 to 2020.

Victreebel's influence over OU is not something seen nowadays, but the scars of its time in the spotlight during 2018 and 2019 remain. Being faster than your regular figureheads—notably Chansey, Exeggutor, and Snorlax—allowed it to take over games very quickly, decimating the now-antiquated "Big 4" teams pretty much on its own. This was mainly because people would often trade Thunder Wave on Turn 1, something that became much less frequent when Victreebel was able to profit from the typical absorbers losing their Speed, namely Starmie and Alakazam. Victreebel's heavy-handed response to these common metagame trends forced players to adapt, and they begrudgingly did. Sing Chansey is now often switching in on Turn 1 Thunder Waves instead, so it is much more difficult to spread paralysis for Victreebel to take over. It still can and it's by far one of the best non-OU non-standard (I imagine?) Pokemon out there, but it's nowhere near a staple like it was back then. Regardless, Victreebel single-handedly led to the modern RBY metagame, (AC) where sleep leads are in their prime and Exeggutor is seen as droppable. Few Pokemon in the entire franchise, let alone RBY, can claim they turned a 20+ year old metagame on its head.

Dragonite has always been a controversial character in tiering, with posts dating back to 2006 complaining about its antics. It's been OU-tiered a few times because of it on various websites, but it never truly stayed there because of the rampant Blizzards and Thunder Waves in its way, not to mention the bulky metagame staples. However, AgiliWrap isn't all Dragonite can do here, and to say otherwise is a gross misunderstanding. In recent years, Dragonite has seen much diversification with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Blizzard / Hyper Beam, which allows it to form a catch-22 between Wrap + and Thunder Wave. The main counterplay to Wrap is to switch in a faster Pokemon, but doing this against Dragonite puts you at risk of being paralyzed. Dragonite is also capable of using Surf to deal with Rhydon more definitively, preventing it from safely absorbing Wrap. Dragonite also saw much use alongside Victreebel during its prime, forming the popular "VicNite" core that would sometimes even drop Chansey in favor of going on for an all-out offense.

Moltres has seen sporadic usage over the years at top level, including the recent SPL XII. The second its walls—Chansey, Starmie, and Slowbro—are removed, it can often go ham on the opposing team in a similar manner to Articuno. However, it's among the worst viable users of partial trapping for the exact same reasons as Dragonite: horrible defensive typing, getting debilitated by paralysis, and horrific consistency. What really lets it down, though, is accidentally thawing a frozen Chansey or something with its Fire Blast. This can be enough to lose a game in modern RBY, and possessing more weaknesses and a worse movepool can be problematic as well. Regardless, when these flaws are looked past and accounted for, it's one of the scariest low-ranked Pokemon in the tier, brutally tearing teams apart through sheer damage output if all goes to plan.

Pinsir is another Pokemon that has seen scarce usage (RC) but is considered to be viable in OU for its late-game sweeping potential. Swords Dance + Bind, combined with a Speed stat quite high relative to OU, enables Pinsir to lock down teams once their faster Pokemon are paralysed. Its Hyper Beam is nothing to scoff at, OHKOing Alakazam, Chansey, Jolteon, Jynx, and Victreebel at +2. With a strong Bind to chip other Pokemon into KO range, Pinsir can be seen using one or two Binds put an opposing Pokemon into range right away. However, it's severely lacking in the movepool department—not even having STAB or non-Normal-type coverage to back itself up, (emdash -> comma) making it lose to Gengar and Rock-types outright without Seismic Toss or the unreliable Submission, respectively. It's not It hasn't got any special bulk to write home about either, which is exposed severely by all the fast special attackers in the tier. Ergo, Pinsir is quite rare, but usable. At least it has a use in SPL VII to its name!

Effects: Uber
Because of Mewtwo and Mew's existence and teams demanding Chansey and Snorlax usage, Uber teams often feature many Pokemon with high HP and overall respectable bulk, making partial trapping much more difficult to justify. Both of the Ubers are extremely fast, and Mewtwo is often capable of just OHKOing whatever wrapper is thrown at it. Ergo, regular wrapping is virtually nonexistent, as they its users just aren't fast or bulky enough to contest the despots at the top of the tier. With ridiculous Special on every viable Pokemon, AgiliSpin is also out. This leaves AgiliWrap to try and make an impact.

View attachment 356337
The sole arguably viable wrapper in Ubers is Dragonite, as a result of its immense Attack and the ability to set up on Mew if it only has Earthquake to attack with. These traits can allow Dragonite to attempt AgiliWrap and try to score free damage on the opposing team, which can be helpful. However, you'll often want a Self-Destruct Mewtwo to at least dispatch opposing Mewtwo if you want a shot at pulling this off, as it's Mewtwo is very capable of absorbing the hits, farming Amnesia boosts, or just outright removing Dragonite using Ice Beam.


Effects: UU

Affectionately referred to by RBY UU players as "The Great Dictator" or something similar, it's absolutely no secret that Tentacruel utilizes Wrap as a method of creating a hellish grip on the tier. Its influence can even be tracked down to tier, and that's absolutely no secret. It almost single-handedly determines the viability of Pokemon, such as Electabuzz being UU over Raichu due to their Speed tier difference alone. Various others, such as Charizard and Nidoking, are prevented from succeeding in part due to the existence of Tentacruel, while Moltres has it's usage reduced to a niche. is relegated to niche use. In fact, Tentacruel itself played a role in the unbanning of Articuno and Moltres alongside Omastar. Wrap allows Tentacruel to serve as an incredible lead, breaking in games into the user's advantage from the momentum it gives, resulting in many UU games starting with a Tentacruel mirror match. However, Tentacruel can also run a Swords Dance + Wrap set to clean up late-game, (added hyphen) allowing it to blow past checks like Vaporeon and Dewgong rather than getting stopped short. But that's just the surface of this incredibly powerful Pokemon, as its Special stat gives it great damage outside of Wrap, and its Poison typing makes it immune to opposing Toxic, a unique trait amongst wrappers. Counterplay to Tentacruel comes in the form of faster Pokemon such as Dugtrio, Electabuzz, and Kadabra, which must be incredibly careful not to get paralyzed at other points earlier in the match in order to preserve their Speed tiers, all while trying to paralyze an opposing Tentacruel to make it slightly less oppressive, slowing it to a crawl and allowing other Pokemon to effectively check it as well. Few Pokemon have had such an effect on a tier, but Tentacruel has been seen as a healthy top tier among enthusiasts for the varied and skill-based (or something like this?) interactions it presents.


As its suspect test in 2021 implies, Dragonite is one of the most important Pokemon to immediately check in RBY UU due to how powerful its sets are; they range widely in versatility, function, (or something else) with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Body Slam / Hyper Beam or Blizzard, Agility sweeper sets, Gyarados-like sets, and more all seeing some kind of usage. However, no set is as controversially powerful as its AgiliWrap set. Notorious for its ability to steal games within just a few turns. Dragonite's Wrap is one of the strongest in the entire game alone, and with a boost in Speed, allows it can completely control the game and be nearly impossible to defensively answer once set up outside of dumb luck. Toxic is one of few ways to completely shut down a sweep, as the passive damage prevents it from being a permanent stay, Dragonite from staying in permanently, while offensive answers such as Articuno and Tentacruel can shut it down with their access to Blizzard. Because of the sheer threat level of this set, Pokemon like Persian, Dodrio, Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, and more are almost mandated to run Toxic, lest teams get shut down and chipped into range for a KO by Dragonite's teammates. This set, while incredibly dominant, isn't the only trick Dragonite carries, however. Paralysis spreading access with both Thunder Wave and Body Slam makes Dragonite an incredible utility choice while also slowing things answers down for its powerful Wrap to whittle down at answers that have been slowed. Overall, Dragonite is a definitive piece of RBY UU; while Tentacruel gives it the moniker of "Wrap tier", Dragonite actualizes the term.

Effects: NU
View attachment 381131View attachment 381132View attachment 381133View attachment 381134
Unlike UU, where Wrap is the dominant partial trapping move, in NU Fire Spin is the name of the game. The conditions of NU finally allow for all of the Fire-types to be viable, meaning that a lot of high-power (added hyphen) Pokemon are condensed into the tier. This makes Fire Spin incredibly valuable, dealing impressive STAB chip damage. In addition, the blazing Speed of nearly every Fire Spin user effectively makes it so that each viable Pokemon with access to it has gives each viable one the might of the infamous “AgiliWrap” strategy, but without the need for a setup turn. Fire Spin’s inconsistency is the only thing keeping it in check. Charizard’s blazing fast Speed, fantastic coverage, and ability to pivot around the opponent with the aforementioned Fire Spin makes it incredibly hard to break momentum that the Charizard user obtains, its momentum, allowing it to escape its checks like Blastoise while also chipping it them down for its teammates. It's also mostly thanks to Charizard’s access to Fire Spin and Earthquake that an entirely new playstyle arises in NU, that being the infamous “Fire Spam”, a strategy where multiple speedy Fire-type Pokemon utilise utilize a combination of Fire Spin and Toxic to run through their checks and reduce interactivity as much as possible. This success of Fire Spin makes Toxic a regular part of the metagame, adding an entirely new dimension of strategy to the tier.

View attachment 381135
Pinsir is most successful in NU, complimenting complementing access to Bind with one of the largest offensive presences of the tier thanks to Swords Dance. It largely reprises its role in UU, but with much higher viability in general. +2 Hyper Beam scores OHKOs on Mr. Mime, Dragonair, Blastoise, and Clefable with minor chip damage from Bind. However, Pinsir can struggle in the metagame at times thanks to the newfound viability of Fire-types, where Bind doesn't help it as much due to Pinsir being much slower. and the higher baseline Speed makes Bind less helpful. (I imagine?)

Fire Spin Arcanine: The Lost Wrapper
View attachment 360672The only Pokemon to get a partial trapping move via the Time Capsule in GSC is Arcanine, which gains Fire Spin. This is a massive boost to its utility, as it also has Agility, letting it abuse the AgiliSpin combo alongside its very high Attack stat. It doesn't have to just do this, either, as almost any combination of Fire Blast, Fire Spin, Body Slam, Hyper Beam and Agility is viable in some respects. It also gains Headbutt through Tradebacks, which gives it the potential to exploit paralyzed Pokemon more effectively, though this is often inferior to Body Slam and Hyper Beam without dedicated teambuilding.

Arcanine mainly competes with Moltres as an AgiliSpin user in formats Tradebacks are allowed in, which has a higher Special stat, better bulk, and an Earthquake immunity. Arcanine, on the other hand, has access to Body Slam plus higher Speed and Attack stats. Because of this, while Arcanine deals less Fire Spin damage per turn, it's arguably better at closing out interactions against Pokemon with less Defense, such as Alakazam or Chansey. However, to say it replaces Moltres would be a lie, considering the sheer power it Moltres has compared to Arcanine overall. Regardless, it's certainly a serviceable option and a much better Pokemon, no longer having to be seen as "that one Fire-type without Fire Spin".

Changes in Pokemon Stadium
Introduced in the Japanese Pokemon Stadium and kept for the Pokemon Stadium game we got internationally, these games change things up a bit in regards to partial trapping. These changes are as follows; partial trapping alterations change up the games a bit: (I imagine?)
  • The 1/256 accuracy bug is fixed, indirectly making the moves more consistent. Thus, Wrap has 85% accuracy, Bind and Clamp have 75% accuracy, and Fire Spin has 70% accuracy.
  • There is no longer any indication as to whether either player will see partial trapping continue, as the Fight menu no longer exists. Since the Fight menu no longer exists, and pressing Fight will always bring up the move menu, so you never neither player will ever know if the trapping continues until the command is issued. (i imagine this section still makes sense?)
  • If either player switches, the turn automatically ends and the wrapper isn't forced to use the move again. If both players switch, the same happens; neither player is "blocked" from switching. Essentially, both players get the pivot effect.
These changes essentially make partial trapping moves into a phasing type of thing, somewhat like phazing, though in quite a bad way. It essentially gives the opponent safe entry for their Pokemon, making switching a faster Pokemon in much easier and limiting the amount of chip damage they have to take before they have a chance to fight the wrapper. It does, however, make the moves a bit harder to PP stall, as the wrapper is no longer "forced" to use partial trapping move upon switching. This can be seen as a slight boost to AgiliWrap strategies, as the commitment behind the move isn't as large and the sweep (or something, even "it") can always be abandoned in the event if a switch-in is more easily beaten by something else. However, metagame relevance in this area is largely unexplored.

Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide has successfully delivered the interesting nuances and history behind RBY partial trapping, as well as how to counterplay it properly. While a very misunderstood mechanic, it can be very powerful and interactive in the hands of experienced players, and it is something people should explore more. If you're interested in a tier where you can see the mechanics in full form, RBY UU is perhaps the most relevant, considering its resident monarch is the most notorious user of it. Give it a shot!
 
Last edited:

Ryota Mitarai

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The like shop was a trap

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All about RBY Partial Trapping

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<div class="author">By <a href="/forums/members/236353/">May</a>, <a href="/forums/members/pac.520967/" target="_blank">pac</a>, and <a href="/forums/members/468904/" target="_blank">SBPC</a>. Art by <a href="/forums/members/ausma.360720/">ausma</a>.</div>

<div class="align-center">
    <img src="/rb/articles/rby_trapping_art.png" alt="All about RBY trapping art" />
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<h2>Introduction</h2>

<p>One of the most well-known aspects of RBY is how partial trapping&mdash;a largely forgotten mechanic only seeing prominent use on Magma Storm Heatran in later generations&mdash;is among the most powerful mechanics in the game, working entirely differently from modern moves. In case you didn't know, in later generations, partial trapping is generally minor; a Pok&eacute;mon is prevented from switching and takes chip damage for a set amount of turns. In RBY, on the other hand, Pok&eacute;mon can switch out but are immobilized instead while still taking chip damage. This makes oft-forgotten moves like Wrap, Bind, Fire Spin, and Clamp all very important moves in the chromatic generation. Some compare RBY partial trapping to Serene Grace Iron Head Jirachi in newer generations, but with the very low damage and accuracy, as well as the amount of punishment even a single miss can receive, the comparisons are arguably a bit sensational. Speaking of cross-generational difference, did you know Wrap master Dragonite originally looked almost completely different in Red and Green, featuring a more elongated design and a dorsal fin? We did, so we had our resident artist ausma represent that in the artwork for this article!</p>

<p>However, the mechanic is often described as "lame," "degenerate," and "braindead" by onlookers. In fact, it's so controversial that partial trapping has historically been banned in some popular RBY formats due to its arguable brokenness, particularly in the late RBY 2k10 community, which produced its own tiers. These tiers would later be adopted by Pok&eacute;mon Online, albeit with partial trapping unbanned, and a later vote kept it as such, which is the last we see of any action against the moves. These tiers and the partial trapping ban were never adopted on Smogon, though, so you essentially had two parallel communities competing during the 2010s, creating a minor split in metagame development. RBY 2k10 has since died off, being superseded by Pok&eacute;mon Perfect, which developed new lower tiers; these didn't take action on partial trapping and were not adopted by Smogon either. This definitively put an end to any kind of partial trapping ban in competitive RBY. Pok&eacute;mon Online and Pok&eacute;mon Perfect have also suspended all tiering projects, allowing Smogon's lower tiers to flourish now that they're being optimized and enjoyed.</p>

<p>Contrary to popular belief, partial trapping actually has quite a lot of depth to offer, which is one of many reasons why the Wrap ban of old died off. This guide will aim to demonstrate that. For the purposes of accuracy, rather than refer to a Pok&eacute;mon as "trapped" like how we describe later generations, we'll say "wrapped," as you really need to be aware that you can switch and distinguish the mechanics more.</p>

<div id="toc">
    <h3>Table of Contents</h3>
    <ul class="links">
        <li><a href="#mechanics">The Mechanics</a></li>
        <li><a href="#situation">The Situation</a></li>
        <li><a href="#role-compendium">Role Compendium</a></li>
        <li><a href="#boosting-with-partial-trapping">Boosting with Partial Trapping</a></li>
        <li><a href="#effects-ou">Effects: OU</a></li>
        <li><a href="#effects-ubers">Effects: Ubers</a></li>
        <li><a href="#effects-uu">Effects: UU</a></li>
        <li><a href="#effects-nu">Effects: NU</a></li>
        <li><a href="#arcanine">Fire Spin Arcanine: The Lost Wrapper</a></li>
        <li><a href="#changes-in-stadium">Changes in Pok&eacute;mon Stadium</a></li>
    </ul>
</div>

<hr />

<h2 id="mechanics">The Mechanics</h2>

<p>To quote the <a href="/rb/articles/rby_mechanics_guide#partial-trapping" target="_blank">mechanics guide</a>:</p>

<div class="quote">
    <p>RBY partial trapping should be treated like a completely separate entity to modern-day partial trapping. Partial trapping moves&mdash;Wrap, Bind, Clamp, and Fire Spin&mdash;will deal the same amount of damage every turn, similar to multi-hit moves. Additionally, a user will be locked into the move for 2-5 turns, and a target will be completely immobilized during the ordeal, unable to strike back. In the event of a Pok&eacute;mon with an immunity, such as Ghost-types against Wrap or Bind, they will be immobilized but will not take damage.</p>
    
    <p>If the trapper switches, the trapped Pok&eacute;mon will not be able to move, making moves like Wrap pseudo-pivot moves. On the flip side, a faster trapped Pok&eacute;mon will get to punish the switch-in, as it will be freed the following turn. The trapped Pok&eacute;mon can also switch out, regardless of Speed. Switching out while trapped will force the opposing trapper to "reuse" the move, restarting the 2-5 turn lock and subtracting one PP, giving a form of PP stall counterplay. If the move is forced to be reused through switching at 0 PP though, it will roll over to 63 (this will not occur if the opponent tries to use the move at 0 PP). With these factors considered, there is quite a bit of depth to partial trapping situations.</p>
    
    <p>If a Pok&eacute;mon has used Hyper Beam and the opposing partial trapping user misses, the recharge turn is skipped. If the partial trapping move is used and misses while the foe is recharging, though, the opposing Hyper Beam user will automatically reuse Hyper Beam. If they have 0 Hyper Beam PP at this point, the move's PP will also roll over to 63. For example, if Tauros uses its last Hyper Beam and fails to KO a normal Speed Dragonite, then Dragonite uses Wrap and misses, Tauros can immediately move again next turn. If Dragonite uses Agility right after the final Hyper Beam and then uses Wrap next turn and misses, however, Tauros will immediately use Hyper Beam and get 63 more uses.</p>
    
    <p>If a partial trapping move is copied by Mirror Move and succeeds, it works as normal. However, if the trapped Pok&eacute;mon switches out in a Link Battle, due to Mirror Move forcing the move to fail on one side and having the user continue partial trapping on the other, this will cause a desync.</p>
</div>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="situation">The Situation</h2>

<p>Because of these mechanics, when a Pok&eacute;mon is "wrapped," the following options are available:</p>

<ul class="list">
    <li>The wrapped Pok&eacute;mon can switch out.
        <ul>
            <li>This forces the wrapper to reuse their partial trapping move if they stay in, unless the move just completed its last turn.</li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li>The wrapped Pok&eacute;mon can stay in, scouting for a switch from the wrapper or absorbing damage.</li>
    <li>The wrapper can switch out.
        <ul>
            <li>This leaves the wrapped Pok&eacute;mon unable to move for the turn if it stays in, acting like a pivot move in later generations.</li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li>The wrapper can "press," continuing the attack.
        <ul>
            <li>To be clear, each time the move is reused, it's a bit of a gamble. There is a 37.5% chance that the wrapper will get 2 or 3 turns each, and a 12.5% chance that the wrapper will get 4 or 5 turns each. The second each wrapping sequence ends, the option to switch out safely is removed for that turn. Continuing the attack is mainly done to put Pok&eacute;mon in range for a follow-up attack.</li>
        </ul>
    </li>
</ul>

<p>All four of these options manipulate the situation in different ways, and playing to them is critical to succeeding with the move. Partial trapping moves can either gain you immense momentum or put you into a terrible spot depending on how you utilize them, and it all comes down to how you switch. It should be noted that neither player knows whether their partial trapping move will continue until they click the "Fight" button; if the move continues, player input is removed and the attack continues with a "Communicating!" screen. Otherwise, move selection comes up as normal.</p>

<p>If your Pok&eacute;mon is wrapped while being slower, your main option will be to weave in a faster Pok&eacute;mon as soon as possible. You're "bleeding" damage the longer your Pok&eacute;mon stays in, which will build pressure on your end as your Pok&eacute;mon slowly gets chipped into range of KO moves. By switching in a faster Pok&eacute;mon, you force the wrapper to end the sequence by switching itself, denying a safe pivot and possibly forcing progress on either end. Remember that the wrapper can always predict the faster switch-in as well. You can also stay in and wait for a miss, though this often results in taking a lot of chip damage. Alternatively, switching between your Pok&eacute;mon to PP stall can also work, but this takes quite a while, spreads out a ton of chip damage, and reveals your team, so it should not be your primary form of counterplay.</p>

<p>The main disadvantage to partial trapping is accuracy, which leads to high levels of inconsistency. For example, hitting all 32 of Wrap's PP is mathematically improbable, as it has 84.4% accuracy. Even a single miss can be devastating, opening the Wrap user up to being contested with status or heavy damage. For example, Thunder Wave can firmly end most hopes for Wrap spam, giving Wrap a 32.8% chance to effectively fail considering both paralysis and the miss chance, while also making the user slower than any unparalyzed Pok&eacute;mon. Agility is often required to make any further wrapping worthwhile when paralyzed. There's also the possibility of Toxic or Leech Seed, which causes the Wrap user to take more damage than it deals, though these are used more in lower tiers. All of these consistency problems become much worse when you venture outside of Wrap specifically, with Clamp and Bind having 74.6% accuracy and Fire Spin having a pitiful 69.5% accuracy, which, as you can imagine, becomes brutally inconsistent when paralyzed.</p>

<p>To put wrapping's benefits and risks into perspective, here's a play-by-play:</p>

<ol class="list">
    <li>Dragonite uses Wrap against an Exeggutor. Exeggutor can't move for the turn, as it's slower.</li>
    <li>Dragonite now has the option of continuing the attack, switching into a Blizzard user to force Exeggutor out, or switching to a faster Pok&eacute;mon to pre-empt a faster switch-in. Exeggutor has the option of staying in to scout or switching into a faster Pok&eacute;mon to try and force damage or status onto the opposing team.</li>
    <li>Dragonite switches out to Starmie, a Pok&eacute;mon capable of heavily threatening Exeggutor with high damage from Blizzard. Exeggutor stayed in, so now it's forced out unless Sleep Clause isn't active and it can use Sleep Powder at the time. However, this situation could have been avoided or changed with the following:
        <ul>
            <li><a href="//replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen1ou-1358709425-a4qhlnvrnvqrgazgz8dz28pgyico5tjpw" target="_blank">Dragonite could have stayed in to get bonus damage. However, that would have let Exeggutor switch to gain an advantage.</a></li>
            <li><a href="//replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen1ou-1358708532-ccvtd7z01dk9wrcdwo7a5d2woz361rzpw" target="_blank">Exeggutor could have switched to something like Chansey to pre-empt Starmie and threaten it with Thunder Wave.</a></li>
            <li><a href="//replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen1ou-1358710476-m9ejoyzdsx1w5aa2gqjvr2lm9ujy71upw" target="_blank">Dragonite could have switched to a Pok&eacute;mon to deal with Chansey, such as Snorlax, if Chansey was paralyzed or chipped. Alternatively, bringing in a faster sleeper like Victreebel or Exeggutor could have worked.</a></li>
        </ul>
    </li>
</ol>

<p>To summarize from this play-by-play, partial trapping forces a mind game onto both combatants once used. Many, many situations can come from a single Wrap use, making it surprisingly interactive if both players understand how it works and what options are available.</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="role-compendium">Role Compendium</h2>

<p>Ordered by Speed; tradeback moves are separated by a vertical bar ( | ). Arcanine is just below Ninetales in terms of Speed, being base 95.</p>

<ul class="list sprites">
    <li><strong>Bind:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/pinsir.png" alt="Pinsir" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/onix.png" alt="Onix" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/tangela.png" alt="Tangela" /></li>
    <li><strong>Clamp:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/cloyster.png" alt="Cloyster" /></li>
    <li><strong>Fire Spin:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/rapidash.png" alt="Rapidash" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/charizard.png" alt="Charizard" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/ninetales.png" alt="Ninetales" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/moltres.png" alt="Moltres" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/flareon.png" alt="Flareon" /> <span>|</span> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/arcanine.png" alt="Arcanine" /></li>
    <li><strong>Wrap:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/tentacruel.png" alt="Tentacruel" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/dragonite.png" alt="Dragonite" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/arbok.png" alt="Arbok" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/victreebel.png" alt="Victreebel" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/lickitung.png" alt="Lickitung" /></li>
    <li><strong>Agility + Fire Spin:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/rapidash.png" alt="Rapidash" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/moltres.png" alt="Moltres" /> <span>|</span> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/arcanine.png" alt="Arcanine" /></li>
    <li><strong>Agility + Wrap:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/dragonite.png" alt="Dragonite" /></li>
    <li><strong>Swords Dance + Bind:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/pinsir.png" alt="Pinsir" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/tangela.png" alt="Tangela" /></li>
    <li><strong>Swords Dance + Wrap:</strong> <img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/tentacruel.png" alt="Tentacruel" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/victreebel.png" alt="Victreebel" /><img src="/dex/media/sprites/xyicons/lickitung.png" alt="Lickitung" /></li>
</ul>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="boosting-with-partial-trapping">Boosting with Partial Trapping</h2>

<h3>Swords Dance</h3>

<p class="users"><strong>Users:</strong> Pinsir, Tentacruel, Tangela, Victreebel</p>

<p>Since a critical hit wrapping move always deals the same amount of damage for each "tick," you can imagine what Swords Dance can provide Wrap and Bind users. Dealing much higher chip damage per turn, it's possible to run rings around paralyzed teams and build a strong advantage very quickly, arguably making up for the accuracy issues. It's also important to note that Swords Dance can reapply the foe's Speed drop from paralysis, so it can also be a nice safety net should the user also be paralyzed. Finally, with Hyper Beam also being boosted by Swords Dance, with backing from partial trapping, a Pok&eacute;mon can be taken down very quickly without a chance to fight back.</p>

<p>However, Swords Dance + partial trapping has never been a standard; this is not only because of the users being iffy but also because of the setup required. Partial trapping really appreciates Speed to prop up the user, preventing them from being hit before the wrapping begins, and thus requires paralysis support. Each user barring Tentacruel has some kind of issue with Speed or fragility, so they're even more dependent on this support to function. There's also the problem of having to spend a turn to set up without having guaranteed payoff after; as mentioned before, the accuracy of these moves is problematic and will crop up. Ergo, you can end up with two turns of doing absolutely nothing, which can mean everything for the opponent.</p>

<h4>Examples</h4>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1/victreebel.png" alt="Victreebel" class="img-center" />

<p>Victreebel doesn't always use Swords Dance, but it is the only Swords Dance + Wrap user to hit the OU tier. It's not hard to see why this set can be potent, with its high Attack stat letting its +2 Wrap rack up serious damage on most of the tier. Should threats like Alakazam and Starmie get paralyzed, it's very difficult to come back from a set-up Victreebel, which often only loses due to its awful consistency, which has led to it using different sets. Regardless, Victreebel's inconsistency as a whole&mdash;not just with Swords Dance&mdash;has been its undoing in 2021, with it potentially dropping back to UU soon. It also has issues with fitting Hyper Beam onto its sets, often wanting Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder, and Wrap in its moveset at minimum.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1/tentacruel.png" alt="Tentacruel" class="img-center" />
<p>Tentacruel is the face of RBY UU, dictating how games progress through its sheer power and fast Wrap. Naturally, it's a strong candidate for a Swords Dance + Wrap set, which has some minor OU history in the mid-2000s as well, though it falls off in modern OU because of an abundance of fast Thunder Wave users. However, Tentacruel being the fastest user of the combination gives the set some strong points in its favor in RBY UU, making it a scary late-game sweeper. This set is also Tentacruel's best bet when it comes to blowing past the bulky Water-types that attempt to revolt against its tyranny, swiftly cutting into their bulk and allowing for a quick finisher if it carries Hyper Beam. However, somewhat like Victreebel, this set is often forgone in favor of Rest sets, guaranteeing mileage from Tentacruel's presence throughout the game rather than relying on a late-game sweep, which Articuno or Persian can provide just fine. It's still very usable, though, and has seen high-level success, so teams that want Tentacruel to blow past bulky Water-types like Vaporeon can benefit heavily from this set.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1/pinsir.png" alt="Pinsir" class="img-center" />

<p>Pinsir has found a way to be usable in OU, UU, and NU, although never as a top-tier threat. Being the Swords Dance + partial trapping user with the highest Attack stat, Pinsir has the ability to wreak havoc, dealing roughly 9% per Bind tick, quickly putting Pok&eacute;mon into Hyper Beam or Slash range. With a half decent Speed stat to boot, it's very capable of locking down endgames with just a few Pok&eacute;mon paralyzed. However, it's also very inconsistent, with Bind and Hyper Beam both often missing before it can claim a game. It's also absolutely destroyed by each tier's resident Ghost-type, which it can't touch outside of Seismic Toss or pivoting out with Bind, a weakness no other wrapper has.</p>

<h3>Agility</h3>

<p class="users"><strong>Users:</strong> Dragonite, Rapidash, Moltres. Arcanine gains the combination of Fire Spin + Agility via trading through the Time Capsule in GSC.</p>

<p>When boosting Speed alongside partial trapping, you remove the main form of counterplay to the strategy: switching in faster Pok&eacute;mon. This gives the wrapper full control over the game, essentially providing you with free chip damage for what can be up to 32 turns. This can be further extended if the opponent accidentally underflows your PP to 63. As one would expect, this strategy is very controversial, as this essentially forces the victim to PP stall the partial trapping move until it's over. Many have argued the combination to be uncompetitive and campaigned for its ban, though nothing has come of this, outside of a suspect test we'll go over later.</p>

<p>Despite its reputation, however, this strategy rarely sees its peaks. While it has the potential to be extremely strong, like with Swords Dance, you have to spend not only a turn setting up, but also handle what's an 84.4% hit rate at best throughout long wrapping sequences. Ergo, the "two turns of nothing" risk comes back to bite the strategy, only this time with much heavier punishment, as committing to Agility + partial trapping strategies has no damage-increasing benefits. Thus, not only is it possible to disrupt your setup on the Agility turn with moves like Thunder Wave, Toxic, or even a strong super effective move, it may not even work when you get to set up. It's a high-risk, inconsistent reward strategy, though it still sees use by teams that can afford the risk, and it remains a strong option that warps lower tiers.</p>

<h4>Examples</h4>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1/dragonite.png" alt="Dragonite" class="img-center" />

<p>Dragonite is the face of Agility + partial trapping, becoming so controversial in RBY UU that it was suspect tested in May 2021, the first tiering action the tier had seen since BL's removal in 2011. With its titanic Attack stat, it's very capable of dealing massive damage to an opposing team with AgiliWrap. Since it also happens to have the best partial trapping move accuracy-wise, plus an absolutely incredible movepool that lets it choose its checks, it's definitely the most consistent user of the strategy as well. However, because of the aforementioned issues, the suspect test ended in a No Ban vote, and Dragonite has also begun to diversify.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1/moltres.png" alt="Moltres" class="img-center" />

<p>Moltres has been usable in every RBY tier&mdash;even Ubers&mdash;thanks to its ridiculous highs. It has a titanic Special stat to bolster its Fire Spin, as well as the strongest unboosted special attack in the game in its Fire Blast. This, combined with respectable bulk and Attack, has enabled it to be an interesting late-game sweeper. These qualities have made it a very strong NU threat as in particular, seeing use on a wide variety of teams, with even Rest sets popping up now and again. However, while it has those highs, it's never been chilling with Mewtwo and Mew because of its awful consistency, which is the worst out of all Agility + partial trapping users. No moves Moltres regularly uses&mdash;Fire Blast, Fire Spin, and Hyper Beam&mdash;have good accuracy, meaning it can and will miss at least once during a game. That one opening is often more than enough for it to get effectively OHKOed by paralysis, or see its defensive typing get exploited by the rampant Blizzards and Thunderbolts running around Kanto.</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="effects-ou">Effects: OU</h2>

<p>Partial trapping's effects on OU are largely limited by the users themselves. Their Speed is often not that high; this lets Alakazam, Starmie, Jolteon, and even Tauros or Zapdos perform as naturally good checks to the strategy with their Speed and often potential to paralyze wrappers. Additionally, many Pok&eacute;mon are monumentally bulky, such as Chansey, Snorlax, and Cloyster, allowing them to sit down and absorb the hits until a miss happens. Thus, partial trapping is mostly seen as a fringe strategy, but still a viable one for how high the payoff can be. There have also been periods where partial trapping is very dominant, though&mdash;particularly in 2018 to 2019&mdash;which we'll go over in a bit.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rg/cloyster.png" alt="Cloyster" class="img-center" />

<p>Cloyster is the most common user of partial trapping in RBY OU, and it's not even close. Its defensive presence and good Speed relative to the OU staples allows it to serve as a decent non-Thunderbolt Tauros check while pivoting against the slower, bulkier presences you see on every team, namely Snorlax and Chansey. Being able to lock down these Pok&eacute;mon is very important, especially Snorlax, which has the early-game presence to frequently decide where the game's later momentum will swing. Cloyster is most commonly seen alongside Pok&eacute;mon that profit from being switched in safely but are otherwise flawed; Jolteon specifically is a good deterrent to Starmie, which is the foundation for the famous "JoltCloy" core that Heroic Troller produced and succeeded with during 2019 to 2020.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rg/victreebel.png" alt="Victreebel" class="img-center" />

<p>Victreebel's influence over OU is not something seen nowadays, but the scars of its time in the spotlight during 2018 and 2019 remain. Being faster than your regular figureheads&mdash;notably Chansey, Exeggutor, and Snorlax&mdash;allowed it to take over games very quickly, decimating the now-antiquated "Big 4" teams pretty much on its own. This was mainly because people would often trade Thunder Wave on Turn 1, something that became much less frequent when Victreebel was able to profit from the typical absorbers losing their Speed, namely Starmie and Alakazam. Victreebel's heavy-handed response to these common metagame trends forced players to adapt, and they begrudgingly did. Sing Chansey is now often switching in on Turn 1 Thunder Waves instead, so it is much more difficult to spread paralysis for Victreebel to take over. It still can and it's by far one of the best non-standard Pok&eacute;mon out there, but it's nowhere near a staple like it was back then. Regardless, Victreebel single-handedly led to the modern RBY metagame, where sleep leads are in their prime and Exeggutor is seen as droppable. Few Pok&eacute;mon in the entire franchise, let alone RBY, can claim they turned a 20+ year old metagame on its head.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rg/dragonite.png" alt="Dragonite" class="img-center" />

<p>Dragonite has always been a controversial character in tiering, with posts dating back to 2006 complaining about its antics. It's been OU-tiered a few times because of it on various websites, but it never truly stayed there because of the rampant Blizzards and Thunder Waves in its way, not to mention the bulky metagame staples. However, AgiliWrap isn't all Dragonite can do here, and to say otherwise is a gross misunderstanding. In recent years, Dragonite has seen much diversification with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Blizzard / Hyper Beam, which allows it to form a catch-22 between Wrap and Thunder Wave. The main counterplay to Wrap is to switch in a faster Pok&eacute;mon, but doing this against Dragonite puts you at risk of being paralyzed. Dragonite is also capable of using Surf to deal with Rhydon more definitively, preventing it from safely absorbing Wrap. Dragonite also saw much use alongside Victreebel during its prime, forming the once-popular "VicNite" core that would sometimes even drop Chansey in favor of going for an all-out offense.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rg/moltres.png" alt="Moltres" class="img-center" />

<p>Moltres has seen sporadic usage over the years at top level, including the recent SPL XII. The second its walls&mdash;Chansey, Starmie, and Slowbro&mdash;are removed, it can often wreak havoc on the opposing team in a similar manner to Articuno. However, it's among the worst viable users of partial trapping for the exact same reasons as Dragonite: horrible defensive typing, getting debilitated by paralysis, and horrific consistency. What really lets it down, though, is accidentally thawing a frozen Chansey or something with its Fire Blast. This can be enough to lose a game in modern RBY, and possessing more weaknesses and a worse movepool can be problematic as well. Regardless, it's one of the scariest low-ranked Pok&eacute;mon in the tier, brutally tearing teams apart through sheer damage output if all goes to plan, although this doesn't always pan out.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rg/pinsir.png" alt="Pinsir" class="img-center" />

<p>Pinsir is another Pok&eacute;mon that has seen scarce usage but is considered to be viable in OU for its late-game sweeping potential. Swords Dance + Bind, combined with a Speed stat quite high relative to OU, enables Pinsir to lock down teams once their faster Pok&eacute;mon are paralysed. Its Hyper Beam is nothing to scoff at, OHKOing Alakazam, Chansey, Jolteon, Jynx, and Victreebel at +2. With a strong Bind to chip other Pok&eacute;mon into KO range, Pinsir can be seen using one or two Binds put an opposing Pok&eacute;mon into range right away. However, it's severely lacking in the movepool department&mdash;not even having STAB or non-Normal-type coverage to back itself up, making it lose to Gengar and Rock-types outright without Seismic Toss or the unreliable Submission, respectively. It hasn't got any special bulk to write home about either, which is exposed severely by all the fast special attackers in the tier. Ergo, Pinsir is quite rare, but usable. At least it has a use in SPL VII to its name!</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="effects-ubers">Effects: Uber</h2>

<p>Because of Mewtwo and Mew's existence and teams demanding Chansey and Snorlax usage, Uber teams often feature many Pok&eacute;mon with high HP and overall respectable bulk, making partial trapping much more difficult to justify. Both of the Ubers are extremely fast, and Mewtwo is often capable of just OHKOing whatever wrapper is thrown at it. Ergo, regular wrapping is virtually nonexistent, as its users just aren't fast or bulky enough to contest the despots at the top of the tier. With ridiculous Special on every viable Pok&eacute;mon, AgiliSpin is also out. This leaves AgiliWrap to try and make an impact.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rb/dragonite.png" alt="Dragonite" class="img-center" />

<p>The sole arguably viable wrapper in Ubers is Dragonite, as a result of its immense Attack and the ability to set up on Mew if it only has Earthquake to attack with. These traits can allow Dragonite to attempt AgiliWrap and try to score free damage on the opposing team, which can be helpful. However, you'll often want a Self-Destruct Mewtwo to at least dispatch opposing Mewtwo if you want a shot at pulling this off, as Mewtwo is very capable of absorbing the hits, farming Amnesia boosts, or just outright removing Dragonite using Ice Beam.</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="effects-uu">Effects: UU</h2>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rb/tentacruel.png" alt="Tentacruel" class="img-center" />

<p>Affectionately referred to by RBY UU players as "The Great Dictator" or something similar, Tentacruel utilizes Wrap as a method of creating a hellish grip on the tier, and that's absolutely no secret. It almost single-handedly determines the viability of Pok&eacute;mon, such as Electabuzz being UU over Raichu due to their Speed tier difference alone. Various others, such as Charizard and Nidoking, are prevented from succeeding in part due to the existence of Tentacruel, while Moltres is relegated to niche use. In fact, Tentacruel played a role in the unbanning of Articuno and Moltres alongside Omastar. Wrap allows Tentacruel to serve as an incredible lead, breaking in games to the user's advantage from the momentum it gives, resulting in many UU games starting with a Tentacruel mirror match. However, Tentacruel can also run a Swords Dance + Wrap set to clean up late-game, allowing it to blow past checks like Vaporeon and Dewgong rather than getting stopped short. But that's just the surface of this incredibly powerful Pok&eacute;mon, as its Special stat gives it great damage outside of Wrap, and its Poison typing makes it immune to opposing Toxic, a unique trait amongst wrappers. Counterplay to Tentacruel comes in the form of faster Pok&eacute;mon such as Dugtrio, Electabuzz, and Kadabra, which must be incredibly careful not to get paralyzed earlier in the match in order to preserve their Speed tiers, all while trying to paralyze an opposing Tentacruel to make it slightly less oppressive, slowing it to a crawl and allowing other Pok&eacute;mon to effectively check it as well. Few Pok&eacute;mon have had such an effect on a tier, but Tentacruel has been seen as a healthy top tier among enthusiasts for the varied and skill-based interactions it presents.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rg/dragonite.png" alt="Dragonite" class="img-center" />

<p>As its suspect test in 2021 implies, Dragonite is one of the most important Pok&eacute;mon to immediately check in RBY UU due to how powerful its sets are; they range widely in function, with sets like Wrap / Thunder Wave / Body Slam / Hyper Beam or Blizzard, Agility sweeper sets, Gyarados-like sets, and more all seeing some kind of usage. However, no set is as controversially powerful as its AgiliWrap set. Notorious for its ability to steal games within just a few turns. Dragonite's Wrap is one of the strongest in the entire game alone, and with a boost in Speed, it can completely control the game and be nearly impossible to defensively answer outside of dumb luck. Toxic is one of few ways to completely shut down a sweep, as the passive damage prevents Dragonite from staying in permanently, while offensive answers such as Articuno and Tentacruel can shut it down with their access to Blizzard. Because of the sheer threat level of this set, Pok&eacute;mon like Persian, Dodrio, Kangaskhan, Dugtrio, and more are almost mandated to run Toxic, lest teams get shut down and chipped into range for a KO by Dragonite's teammates. This set, while incredibly dominant, isn't the only trick Dragonite carries, however. Paralysis spreading with both Thunder Wave and Body Slam makes Dragonite an incredible utility choice while also slowing answers down for its powerful Wrap to whittle down. Overall, Dragonite is a definitive piece of RBY UU; while Tentacruel gives it the moniker of "Wrap tier", Dragonite actualizes the term.</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="effects-nu">Effects: NU</h2>

<div class="center">
    <img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rb/charizard.png" alt="Charizard" /> <img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rb/moltres.png" alt="Moltres" /> <img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rb/rapidash.png" alt="Rapidash" /> <img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rb/ninetales.png" alt="Ninetales" />
</div>

<p>Unlike UU, where Wrap is the dominant partial trapping move, in NU Fire Spin is the name of the game. The conditions of NU finally allow for most Fire-types to be viable, meaning that a lot of high-power Pok&eacute;mon are condensed into the tier. This makes Fire Spin incredibly valuable, dealing impressive STAB chip damage. In addition, the blazing Speed of nearly every Fire Spin user effectively gives each viable one the might of the infamous "AgiliWrap" strategy, but without the need for a setup turn. Fire Spin's inconsistency is the only thing keeping it in check. Charizard's blazing fast Speed, fantastic coverage, and ability to pivot around the opponent with Fire Spin makes it incredibly hard to breakits momentum, allowing it to escape its checks like Blastoise while also chipping them down for its teammates. It's also mostly thanks to Charizard's access to Fire Spin and Earthquake that an entirely new playstyle arises in NU, that being the infamous "Fire Spam," a strategy where multiple speedy Fire-type Pok&eacute;mon utilize a combination of Fire Spin and Toxic to run through their checks and reduce interactivity as much as possible. This success of Fire Spin makes Toxic a regular part of the metagame, adding an entirely new dimension of strategy to the tier.</p>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1rb/pinsir.png" alt="Pinsir" class="img-center" />

<p>Pinsir is most successful in NU, complementing access to Bind with one of the largest offensive presences of the tier thanks to Swords Dance. It largely reprises its role in UU, but with much higher viability in general. +2 Hyper Beam scores OHKOs on Mr. Mime, Dragonair, Blastoise, and Clefable with minor chip damage from Bind. However, Pinsir can struggle in the metagame at times thanks to the newfound viability of Fire-types, and the higher baseline Speed makes Bind less helpful.</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="arcanine">Fire Spin Arcanine: The Lost Wrapper</h2>

<img src="//play.pokemonshowdown.com/sprites/gen1/arcanine.png" alt="Arcanine" class="img-center" />

<p>The only Pok&eacute;mon to get a partial trapping move via the Time Capsule in GSC is Arcanine, which gains Fire Spin. This is a massive boost to its utility, as it also has Agility, letting it use the AgiliSpin combo alongside its very high Attack stat. It doesn't have to just do this, either, as almost any combination of Fire Blast, Fire Spin, Body Slam, Hyper Beam and Agility is viable in some respects. It also gains Headbutt through Tradebacks, which gives it the potential to exploit paralyzed Pok&eacute;mon more effectively, though this is often inferior to Body Slam and Hyper Beam without dedicated teambuilding.</p>

<p>Arcanine mainly competes with Moltres as an AgiliSpin user in formats Tradebacks are allowed in, which has a higher Special stat, better bulk, and an Earthquake immunity. Arcanine, on the other hand, has access to Body Slam plus higher Speed and Attack stats. Because of this, while Arcanine deals less Fire Spin damage per turn, it's arguably better at closing out interactions against Pok&eacute;mon with less Defense, such as Alakazam or Chansey. However, to say it replaces Moltres would be a lie, considering the sheer power Moltres has compared to Arcanine overall. Regardless, it's certainly a serviceable option and a much better Pok&eacute;mon, no longer having to be seen as "that one Fire-type without Fire Spin."</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2 id="changes-in-stadium">Changes in Pok&eacute;mon Stadium</h2>

<p>Introduced in the Japanese Pok&eacute;mon Stadium and kept for the Pok&eacute;mon Stadium game we got internationally, these partial trapping alterations change up the games a bit:</p>

<ul class="list">
    <li>The 1/256 accuracy bug is fixed, indirectly making the moves more consistent. Thus, Wrap has 85% accuracy, Bind and Clamp have 75% accuracy, and Fire Spin has 70% accuracy.</li>
    <li>Since the Fight menu no longer exists, and pressing Fight will always bring up the move menu, neither player will ever know if wrapping continues until commands are issued.</li>
    <li>If either player switches, the turn automatically ends and the wrapper isn't forced to use the move again. If both players switch, the same happens; neither player is "blocked" from switching or impeded by another move use. Essentially, both players get the pivot effect.</li>
</ul>

<p>These changes make partial trapping moves somewhat like phazing, though in quite a bad way, with it largely considered to be a nerf. It essentially gives the opponent safe entry for their Pok&eacute;mon, making switching a faster Pok&eacute;mon in much easier and limiting the amount of chip damage they have to take before they have a chance to fight the wrapper. It does, however, make the moves a bit harder to PP stall, as the wrapper is no longer "forced" to use partial trapping move upon switching. This can be seen as a slight boost to AgiliWrap strategies, as the commitment behind the move isn't as large and the sweep can always be abandoned if a switch-in is more easily beaten by something else. However, metagame relevance in this area is largely unexplored.</p>

<p><a href="#toc">Back to table of contents!</a></p>

<hr />

<h2>Conclusion</h2>

<p>Hopefully, this guide has successfully delivered the interesting nuances and history behind RBY partial trapping, as well as how to counter it properly. While a very misunderstood mechanic, it can be very powerful and interactive in the hands of experienced players, and it is something people should explore more. If you're interested in a tier where you can see the mechanics in full form, RBY UU is perhaps the most relevant, considering its resident monarch is the most notorious user of it. Give it a shot!</p>
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