GSC In-Game Tier List Mark V

My testing is complete!

Rival 4:

Furret (L34 - L35 after beating Sneasel) -> Outpaces and 2HKOs Golbat with PB Strength. Wing Attack doesn't even 3HKO in return, but Confuse Ray blows. Dig OHKOs and outspeeds Magnemite; 2HKOs-OHKOs and outspeeds Haunter (who KOes himself usually with Curse right after if he does survive). Sneasel outpaces but is 2HKOed by PB Strength and Faint Attack maybe 5HKOs while Screech is useless for his teammates. Outpaces and 3HKOes Feraligatr with PB Strength while Bite/Water Gun doesn't even 4HKO in return, and neither does initial turn Rage even after Sneasel Screeching. A second Rage also fails to do much more than bring you into the yellow. May need healing (between confusion, Golbat Bites, and/or Curse) or a held Bitter Berry to guarantee and wants Dig to clear Magnemite and Haunter reliably, but pretty solid overall. B tier.

Graveler (L36) -> Golbat outpaces and can be annoying with Confuse Ray + Bite (5KOs you); Rock Throw nearly OHKOs, and Curlout OHKOs reliably. Feraligatr outpaces and OHKOs with Water Gun after a single Bite or possibly even without said Bite (lol) and comes right after Golbat, so Curlout is a no. Magnemite is easily outpaced and OHKOed by Dig/Magnitude. Haunter outpaces but is killed by Curse + Curlout and does pitiful damage back to you (5KO? Less?) with Shadow Ball. Sneasel outpaces but dies to Curlout or Rock Throw and Faint Attack isn't even 3HKO. Graveler can solo if Quilava is the starter for the Rival, but otherwise no. Still does pretty well though, so B tier IMO.

Clair:

Furret (L39 - L40 after beating Dragonair 3) -> Outpaces and 2HKOs Dragonairs with PB Return while not even getting 4HKOed by their elemental moves (paralysis, courtesy of T-Wave and Dragonbreath, can suck though). Healing support almost certainly needed (a few Hyper Potions at least and a Full Heal or two) due to common paralysis, Smokescreen, and/or being worn down while going last due to paralysis. You outspeed Kingdra and 3HKO-2HKO with PB Return, but Surf 3HKOs in return. If you heal reliably, you win. If not, you probably lose. B-tier due to the need for healing, but if you can heal Furret fully after beating the first 2-3 D-Airs - perhaps sacking another Mon to do so - you can really win this.

Graveler (L39) -> Nah. Straight E-Tier, absolutely trash matchup; nearly everyone can and will kill you in one or two hits.

Rival 5:

Graveler (L40 - L41 after beating Kadabra) -> Sneasel outspeeds but reliably dies to one Earthquake; Fury Cutter does laughable damage. Feraligatr still outspeeds and OHKOes with Water Gun so no. Golbat outpaces and can be really nasty with Confuse Ray (and Confuse Ray + Bite even more so; Bite is a 4-5HKO eyeballing) but Curlout OHKOs. Kadabra usually uses Future Sight and dies like fodder. Haunter usually uses Curse and dies to Curlout. Magneton outpaces but gets killed by amped Curlout. B-tier, Graveler actually can kill virtually everyone one-on-one or, with some luck, nearly solo (provided you have a held Bitter Berry). The EQ TM isn't even necessary if you grind to L41 earlier.

Graveler just ain't beating Feraligatr or Meganium alone and will struggle mightily against Golbat, and soloing is unlikely unless Silver chose Typhlosion. Magneton, Haunter, and Kadabra are easy enough though - all die to one EQ or amped Curlout, and Kadabra is really stupid and likes to spam Future Sight, even when it won't work (due to already using it before). Beware of Future Sight on the turn it hits though.

Furret (L40 - L41 after beating Golbat) -> Furret outpaces and OHKOs Sneasel and Kadabra with PB Return. 2HKOs and outpaces Golbat with Return, but Confuse Ray blows, though Wing Attack cannot even 4HKO you barring crits. Outpaces and OHKOs Magneton with Dig; Haunter too. 2-3HKOs Feraligatr with PB Return. Slash doesn't even 4HKO barring a crit, and Water Gun is even weaker. Rage is still worse. Outpaces and OHKOs Magneton with Dig. Pretty easy matchup, just prefer a Bitter Berry to ensure you can beat Golbat reliably. Pretty easy matchup, A-tier due to Dig reliance and likely Bitter Berry reliance.

Will:

Graveler (L42) ->Xatu 1 and 2 outpace and can Confuse Ray; have a Bitter Berry for it. Rock Throw 2HKOs but you get 2HKOed by Psychic in return. Exeggutor outpaces and narrowly fails to OHKO with Psychic (might even be able to OHKO you after all depending on your IVs or a bit of prior damage) or nerfs you hard with Reflect. Jynx outpaces and OHKOes with Ice Punch, probably Psychic. Slowbro 2HKOs you with Psychic. bout you outpace (for once!) and normally 3HKO with Earthquake or Curlout, though Curse may mess with that and Slowbro likes using that a lot. Overall, pretty bad matchup; you can't reliably beat anyone here (barring a crit on the Xatus or some really bad move choices). D-tier.

Furret (L42 - L43 after beating Slowbro) -> PB Return outpaces and 2HKOes both Xatu; Confuse Ray can be annoying, again, and Psychic from both 3HKOes. Jynx gets outpaced and OHKOed. PB Return outpaces and 2-3HKOes Exeggutor, but Leech Seed and/or Reflect can be really annoying, especially if Slowbro can avail either or both boosts (Slowbro is normally 3HKOed by Return and 4HKOed after Curse). Also, Exeggutor 2HKOes you back with Psychic. Curlout 2HKOs Xatu 1, OHKOs Jynx, OHKOs Exeggutor, and OHKOs Slowbro; unfortunately, you lose steam by the time you end up at Xatu 2 and probably will need to heal; though Return still 2HKOs and pretty reliably, just like for Xatu 1 as mentioned before.

You will probably need a bit of healing support (mainly Full Restores and maybe a Bitter Berry too held if you wanna use Rollout as opposd to Returnn), but overall, you can destroy a massive part of this team without much difficulty or item use. B-tier.

Koga:

Graveler (L43 - L44 after beating Muk) -> Graveler outpaces and 2HKOes Ariados with Earthquake; Giga Drain 2HKOes you right back though. Earthquake 3HKOs Forretress whom you outpace while Swift will not even 4HKO you, and you can live an Explosion pretty reliably if you are near full health and don't get critted (only 2HKO damage). Venomoth outpaces but 3HKOs only with Psychic; Earthquake reliably 2HKOs. Crobat can be annoying due to outpacing you and Double Team (+Toxic) shenanigans but Rock Throw 2HKOs. Wing Attack does laughable damage to you though. Earthquake OHKOs Muk, whom you outspeed. Overall, you can and should win pretty reliably and defeat pretty much everyone one-on-one fairly reliable, but you will likely need healing support for Ariados and/or Crobat if you are running the whole gamut. Curlout not recommended due to Forretress Protect, Ariados Double Team, and Crobat Double Team shenanigans. B-tier.

Furret (L43 - L44 after beating Muk) -> PB Return 2HKOes Ariados and outpacesl Double Team can be annoying but not too bad. Giga Drain does pitiful damage in return, not even 4HKOing you barring successive crits. Ditto for Venomoth and Toxic; Psychic only 4HKOs. Fire Punch OHKOes Forretress reliably. PB Return reliably 2HKOes Muk barring Acid Armor, after which it becomes a 3HKO; Sludge Bomb 3HKOes you in return, and Minimize can be a bit annoying. Crobat outpaces and can 4-3HKO with Wing Attack or be annoying with Double Team; your own PB Return 2-3HKOes back. Curlout not recommended due to Forretress Protect, Ariados Double Team, and Crobat Double Team shenanigans. You may need a Full Restore here or two - most likely around Muk and/or Crobat - but overall, you are good to go! A-tier.

Bruno:

Graveler (L44 - L45 after Machamp) -> Hitmontop will outspeed you and use likely Dig first (or second); if you use EQ even once while Hitmontop is underground, you easily OHKO him. Hitmonlee outpaces and Hi Jump Kick and Double Kick both 2HKO but Earthquake reliably OHKOs in return. May need some healing between Lee and Chan; Ice Punch 3HKOs you while EQ 2HKOs Chan, but you will need healing again as Chan outspeeds you. Machamp is a no go to reliably outpacing you and OHKOing with Cross Chop. Onix outpaces you and 3HKOes with EQ while you OHKO back.

If you use Defense Curl, however, things go better. Dig does pitiful damage (barring crits), especially if you Defense Curl from the start and keep doing so 5 more times (up to +6). From there, you can use EQ to 2HKO Hitmontop, who will start using Pursuit (which does pitiful damage, not even a 4HKO). Neither Hi Jump Kick nor Double Kick now 3HKOes you from Hitmonlee (Hitmonchan, unfortunately, remains troublesome). You will probably need a Full Restore or two around Chan, first once he comes in and then after eating 2 non-crit Ice Punches. Cross Chop now only 4HKOs you (barring crits), but given the high crit rate and the fact you go slower, you may still lose. Earthquake 3HKOes Machamp (not counting Hyper Potion, making it more a 5HKO). Onix does piddly squat to you now even with EQ, not even 5HKOing you, while you OHKO back with EQ. Surprisingly great matchup given the type disadvantage, albeit you are more item reliant than Furret. Still, I'd stay in B-tier. Everyone is beatable one-on-one except Machamp, whom you can beat alongside everyone else with aforementioned setup and some healing (and a bit of luck).

Furret (L43 - L44 after beating Hitmonchan) -> Furret outpaces and 2HKOs Hitmontop with PB Return; however, if you have Defense Curl, definitely set that up to +6 (and you can easily; Hitmontop hits for very little damage with Dig/Quick Attack/Pursuit and the Dig turns make you resist those attacks even better by giving you breathing room to set up Defense Curls). Furret outpaces and OHKOs Hitmonlee with PB Return. Chan is much the same, except he may outpace you with Mach Punch; which, barring crits, does pitiful damage to +6 Furret. Furret outpaces and 2-3HKOs Machamp (up to possibly 4HKOs if Bruno uses a healing item) with Return, while Cross Chop - barring a crit - only 3-4HKOs you. Furret outpaces and OHKOs Onix with Surf; Onix can do little back to you with EQ (not even 3HKO). You can really win this solo, but crits from Chan and Champ can ruin your day and you will probably need some healing. Surprisingly great matchup given the type disadvantage. B-tier.

Karen:

Graveler (L45) -> Umbreon outpaces and likes to Sand-Attack you, as well as Confuse Ray you. EQ 3HKOes Umbreon while Faint Attack 4HKOes you. A held Bitter Berry, again, can really help here. You can beat Umbreon solo, but it will probably be annoying between Sand-Accuracy and confusion damage and the (fairly probable) need to use a Full Restore or two. You outpace Vileplume and 2HKO with EQ but Petal Dance OHKOes you, so do not bother. Gengar outspeeds and Curses you but usually tries to Lick you and gets destroyed by Earthquake in one hit. Graveler outpaces (!!!) and destroys Roar Houndoom with EQ in one hit - yes, Houndoom starts with Roar for some reason. Otherwise, Graveler is 3HKOed by Pursuit, 2HKOed by Flamethrower, and 2HKOed (nearly OHKOed by) Crunch. Rock Throw outspeeds (!!!) and OHKOes Murkrow, who also tries to use Whirlwind and 3HKOs with Faint Attack IIRC - though they prefer Whirlwind at least initially on Graveler.

C-tier, you can nearly solo with some item support, but you cannot beat Vileplume one way or another. Gengar did not use Destiny Bond on Graveler, but did on Furret; presumably due to access to Lick?

Furret (L43 - L44 after beating Gengar) -> Furret outpaces Umbreon and 3HKOes with PB Return. Faint Attack, in return, cannot even 4HKO. Confusion and Sand-Attack really suck, though. You outpace and 2HKO Vileplume with PB Return or 3HKO with Curlout while Petal Dance 3HKOes you right back and Stun Spore, if iffy in accuracy, can be annoying if it hits. Probably best to reset Furret's accuracy before moving onto Vileplume or after Vileplume comes in, by switching to another teammate and then back. Heal Furret in the meantime too. Gengar outspeeds and seems to usually begin by Cursing you - do NOT use Curlout here as Gengar will try to use Destiny Bond and take you down with them (and they did). Dig and Shadow Ball, on the other hand, OHKO after Curse damage to Gengar and prevents her from using Destiny Bond. PB Return outpaces and 2HKOes Houndoom - 3HKOes if you count Max Potion - but Flamethrower in return also 2-3HKOes. Return outpaces and OHKOes Murkrow.

B-tier; you likely need to switch out at least once and even need some healing to force through Umbreon. Otherwise, pretty solid and can mostly put the hurt on everyone, tank an attack, and outspeed mostly everyone. Not overwhelming, not great, but decent.

Lance:

Graveler (L45 -> L46 after beating Charizard) -> Gyarados is a no; he outspeeds and OHKOes with Surf. D-Nites outpace and even Twister 3HKOes you (Rock Throw in return 3HKOes D-Nites), Outrage 2HKOes you, and Blizzard OHKOes you. Rock Throw OHKOes Zard, 3HKOes L50 D-Nite, and 2HKOes Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl Ancientpower and Wing Attack do not even 4HKO you, they do pitiful damage, and Hyper Beam falls short of a 3HKO too. Charizard Flamethrwer Overall, kinda mediocre; you can defeat half of his team and maaaybeee more if you're lucky, but even defeating the Thunder D-Nite will likely require some Full Restore spam. Flamethrower only 3HKOs from Charizard. C-tier, you straight up cannot beat half the team reliably but can defeat the other half relatively reliably.

Furret (L44 -> L45 after beating L47 D-Nite 1 -> L46 after beating Charizard) -> Furret outpaces Gyarados and 2HKOes with Curlout while only being 3HKOed by Rain-boosted Surf. Furret outpaces all D-Nites and OHKOes L47 D-Nite 1, as well as L47 D-Nite 2 if Curlout set up. +1 Furret is only 3HKOed (or maybe even less) by Aerodactyl Hyper Beam and 4HKOed or less by Wing Attack/Ancient Power/Rock Slide, in spite of Aerodactyl outpacing you. Your Curlout, if no misses so far, ends as Charizard comes in, whom you outspeed but who 2HKOes you with Flamethrower. To win here, you need to swap and sack another Pokemon - fully healing Furret along the way - and then set up Rollout on Zard again; a fresh Rollout 2HKOes (and Curlout, taking an extra turn, OHKOes), and both OHKO D-Nite 3 regardless.

If you miss a Curlout, set up again - preferably in front of Aerodactyl, as he's a pure physical attacker and the safest for you overall. From there, Charizard and L50 Dragonite are easily outpaced and OHKOed. B-tier; you literally destroy at least 1/4 of Lance's team with Curlout assuming no misses or bad crits, but you will likely need to switch so you can fully heal Furret, and in addition, Rollout misses can suck if against Charizard or one of the D-Nites. Also, Rollout TM...you got competition. Cyndaquil, Magnemite, Geodude, Forretress, and even Shuckle all want it. So B sounds totally reasonable. You may only need a bit of healing. PB Return is far less effective; it 2HKOes Gyarados and Zard but only 3HKOes everyone else. Blizzard and Thunder 3HKO you and Outrage and Fire Blast probably 2HKO you. Do not use Return, Curlout is the way to go here.

Graveler (No Trade) Final Verdict so far:

Rating Tally:

S (5): Bugsy
A (4): Falkner, Whitney
B (3): Rival 3, Morty, Rival 5, Koga, Bruno
C (2): Rival 2, Pryce, Jasmine, Rival 4, Karen, Lance
D (1): Chuck, Will
E (0.5): Clair

Number of Fights Participated: 17

Rating score for Graveler (No Trade): ((5 + 8 + 15 + 12 + 2 + 0.5) / 17) = 2.5 (B-/C+)

Conclusion: B or C is fine.

Grading Point Legend

S
= 5 grade points
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points
C = 2 grade points
D = 1 grade point
E = 0.5 grade points
F = 0 grade points

Furret Final Verdict so far:

Rating Tally:

S (5): Bugsy
A (4): Falkner, Pryce, Jasmine, Rival 2, Morty, Rival 4, Rival 5, Koga
B (3): Whitney, Clair, Will, Bruno, Karen, Lance
C (2): Rival 3, Chuck
D (1): N/A
E (0.5): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 17

Rating score for Furret: ((5 + 32 + 18 + 4) / 17) = 3.47 (B/B+)

Conclusion: B Tier, but can see a rise to A being possible. Rather TM dependent for many major matchups but really good otherwise.
 
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Here is the run, I c/ped for the Eevee's rival fight and I had to hack a Mankey as I forgot it wasn't available in Crystal. Still, I got it at level 15 and it had no impact whatsoever. I also caught Weezing directly as it felt better than evolving Koffing.

Rival (23) : Avoid Haunter. 2HKO Magnemite with Mud Slap and Zubat is Headbutt. Also outspeeds and 3HKOes Bayleef hence if Razor Leaf doesn't crit it's a win (and Headbutt flinching helps).

Morty (25) : Nop, will just beat Gastly with Mud Slap, OHKOing with Mud Slap after Curse and rarely Haunter #1 if Gastly goes for Spite. Haunter #1 is feasible 1v1 but that's assuming it doesn't straight up go for Hypnosis.

Chuck (30) : Use Rain Dance on Primeape and then OHKO both mon with Thunder.

Jasmine (31) : Double Kick 2HKOes Magnemite so Jolteon can beat both. Avoid Steelix.

Pryce (31) : ThunderDance OHKOes the Seel line. Piloswine is 3HKOed by Double Kick but heals meaning it's a 5HKO. Piloswine 3HKOes with Blizzard (or 2 Blizzard + Fury Attack) and will have 4 turns to attack. Dewgong does paltry damages but Blizzard+2 Fury Attack means Jolteon will be in Aurora Beam range. Not the most consistent fight but Jolteon is favored to win and in the worst case, takes down the Seel line.

Rival (33) : Set up Rain Dance and OHKO Golbat with Magnet Thunder. Then, OHKO Magnemite, Haunter and Sneasel. Meganium is surprisingly sent last and avoid it as Jolteon can't really hurt it. Pretty good as Jolteon beats 4 mons.

Clair (38) : Set up Rain Dance and try to 2HKO Kingdra with Thunder. Kingdra 2HKOes with Surf under rain tho so Jolteon only wins assuming kingdra uses Smokescreen first turn. It's possible to beat a Dragonair as Magnet Thunder 2HKOes but not advicable due to Thunder Wave.

Rival (40) : OHKO everything with Thunder but Magneton and Meganium. Avoid Meganium but with PRZCureBerry, defeating Magneton isn't a problem.

Will (40) : Thunder OHKOes both Xatu and Slowbro and 2HKOes Jynx.Use BitterBerry to set up on Xatu #1. Then, OHKO it and 2HKO Jynx with Thunder. Avoid Exeggutor. Then, assuming Jynx used Psychic, Jolteon will only beat Slowbro as Psychic+Quick Attack from Xatu 2HKOes. Alternatively, it's possible to beat both Xatu and Slowbro by defeating Exeggutor and Jynx with something else. Anyway, Jolteon is decent at best here and it's possible it needs to setup Rain Dance several times.

Koga (41) : Set up Rain Dance on Ariados and then Magnet Thunder will OHKO it as well as Forretress. Venomoth is 2HKOed. Try to set up another Rain Dance on Muk and 2HKO it and OHKO Crobat. Jolteon has a great matchup here, only hindered by Venomoth usin Supersonic or Muk 2HKOing with Sludge Bomb (it never attacks).

Bruno (41) : Not good. Jolteon just beats reliably Hitmonchan. Hitmonlee is feasible if it uses Swagger but otherwise 2HKOes. Hitmonchan only 4HKOes with Mach Punch. Hitmontop is an annoyance due to Dig.

Karen (41) : Thunder 3HKOes Umbreon but it's tricky due to the need of Rain Dance and Confuse Ray. Jolteon can set up on Murkrow and then defeat Gengar but due to Curse, it won't be able to take down Houndoom in the process. If Umbreon, Vileplume and Gengar are koed (unlikely), then Jolteon can take down both Murkrow and Houndoom.

Lance (42) : Use Thunder on Gyarados as even if it misses, it's going to set up Rain Dance. Avoid Dragonite as Magnet Thunder is a range for the 2HKO while Dragonite's Hyper Beam is a range for the OHKO. It's also possible to set up Rain once on either Aerodactyl or Charizard, as Jolteon can take a Hyper Beam. Pretty good as Jolteon has a high chance to take the 3 non-Dragonite Pokemon.


Rival (23) : Dig OHKOes Haunter and Magnemite. Headbutt 2HKOes Zubat. Low Kick/Karate Chop 3HKOes and crit/flinches help beating it. Zubat does nothing back and mostly spams Leech Life. Curse makes things hard and Mankey is going to lose to Bayleef if Haunter used Curse. Still, pretty good as Mankey can beat either Haunter+Magnemite+Zubat or Bayleef+Magnemite+Zubat.

Morty (25) : Dig OHKOes Gastly and Haunter #1 which are outsped while Gengar and Haunter #2 outspeed and are only 2HKOed (Haunter #2 is a range at level 26). Equiped with MintBerry, Mankey has great odds (like 70-75%) to beat the whole team as Gengar likes to go for Mean Look. Even by playing safe, Mankey can net 3 kos which is more than fine.

Chuck (30) : Low Kick 2HKOes Primeape. Poliwrath is 4HKOed by Low Kick and while there is a flnch chance, it's hard to beat it.

Jasmine (30) : Dig OHKOes Magnemite. Steelix is 4HKOed by Low Kick and 2HKOes with Iron Tail.

Pryce (31) : Karate Chop 2HKOes everything and Primeape outspeeds Dewgong even after the speed drop. Primeape easily takes one hit from either mon and thus wins reliably against Pryce.

Rival (33) : Karate Chop OHKOes Sneasel while Dig OHKOes Haunter and Magnemite. Avoid the rest as Meganium is only 4HKOed and does a lot of damages back and Golbat is annoying with Confuse Ray and Wing Attack.

Clair (38) : Karate Chop 2HKOes Dragonair and they 4/5HKOes (they reallyneed high rolls on each hit to get the 4HKO). As such, with a PRZCureBerry, Primeape should be able to take down the 3 Dragonair and can even afford a para most of the time. Kingdra is only 3HKOed by BB Karate Chop and 2HKOes with Surf. Pretty good matchup as Primeape should beat the 3 Dragonair.

Rival (40) : Outspeed and OHKO Sneasel. Avoid Golbat as while PB Strength 2HKOes, it does a ton with Wing Attack. OHKOes Magneton with Dig and Kadabra with PB Strength. Avoid Meganium due to Reflect. OHKO Haunter with Dig.

Will (40) : Nop, everything OHKOes with Psychic and even Jynx is 2HKOed.

Koga (40) : PB Strength 2HKOes Ariados and Venomoth. Fire Punch only 2HKOes Forretress.

Bruno (41) : BB Karate Chop 2HKOes Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan while Hitmontop is 3HKOed. Attack Hitmontop and then use Dig the turn it's underground so that it doesn't damage. Then, you can barely take down both Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, taking High Jump Kick + 2 Mach Punch.

Karen (42) : BB DynamicPunch almost OHKOes Umbreon (and does if it hits itself). Dig OHKOes Gengar after Curse. 2HKOes Murkrow with BB Karate Chop. Houndoom sadly outspeeds and 2HKOes while getting 2HKOed (unless Primeape manages to land Dynamic Punch). Alright as Primeape should eat Umbreon+Gengar+Murkrow.

Lance (42) : Used Ice Punch and Thunder Punch here. Outspeed and 2HKO Gyarados with ThunderPunch while it sets up Rain Dance. 2HKOes level 47 Dragonite with Ice Punch while barely taking Hyper Beam. With a PRZCureBerry, Primeape can beat Gyarados and the 2 level 47 Dragonite which feels great. Level 50 Dragonite is a range for the 2HKO and OHKOes with Hyper Beam. Pretty good to beat 3 mons here.


Caught as a Weezing so missed burned tower rival.

Morty (25) : Rollout can potentially win with a MintBerry, Weezing outspeeds and 2HKOes Gastly and then OHKOes the rest. Accuracy is a problem though and a single miss ruin the sweep.Haunter #1 and Gengar both using Hypnosis is a loss too. I tried this several times and it seems Weezing is favored to win.

Chuck (30) : PB Sludge Bomb 2HKOes Primeape and 3HKOes Poliwrath. Primeape doesn't do too much damages. Poliwrath is outsped but prefers to either use Hypnosis or Mind Reader + Hypnosis and will 2/3HKO with Surf according to the damages Primeape did. A win is still possible but that's assuming a poison (meaning Sludge Bomb 2HKOes), a crit or several Hypnosis misses. Otherwise, Self-Destruct OHKOes Poliwrath.

Jasmine (30) : Fire Blast OHKOes Magnemite and 2HKOes Steelix. A paralysis makes things harder as Steelix 3HKOes with Iron Tail.

Pryce (31) : PB Sludge Bomb is a range on Seel and 2HKOes Dewgong. Piloswine is 2HKOed by Fire Blast. If Weezing gets the range on Seel, then it has real chance of winning. If it misses it tho, Dewgong will outspeed and put Weezing is Blizzard range. Still, Weezing should beat the Seel line.

Rival (33) : Avoid Golbat as even though Thunder 2HKOes, it's going to hax and it's hard to hit through confusion. Fire Blast OHKOes Magnemite. PB Sludge Bomb 2HKOes Sneasel and Meganium. Avoid Haunter due to Curse. Weezing should beat Meganium and Sneasel and Magnemite but will struggle to do more.

Clair (38) : Sludge Bomb 2HKOes Dragonair while special attacks 4HKO. With a PRZCureBerry, Weezing can beat the 3 Dragonair if it manages to attack 3 turns while para'd. Kingdra outspeeds, is only 3HKOed by Sludge Bomb and 2HKOes with Surf. Alternatively, it's possible to beat a Dragonair with a PRZCureBerry and then use Self-Destruct on Kingdra but it's not reliable as it goes for Smokescreen.

Rival (40) : PB Sludge Bomb 2HKOes Sneasel and Meganium while Kadabra is OHKOed. Magneton and Haunter (after Curse) are OHKOed by Fire Blast. Thunder only 2HKOes Golbat which is impossible to get through with Confuse Ray.

Will (40) : nop, everything OHKOes with Psychic and Exeggutor lives a Sludge Bomb.

Koga (40) : OHKOes Ariados and Foretress with Fire Blast. Venomoth outspeeds and 2HKOes with Psychic and is only 2HKOed by Fire Blast. It's also possible to use Self-Destruct to ko Muk.

Bruno (41) : PB Sludge Bomb 2HKOes Hitmontop, even though it outspeeds and does a lot with Dig. Weezing can then 2HKO Hitmonchan, barely living 2 Fire Punch and then use Self-Destruct to ko Machamp.

Karen (41) : PB Self-Destruct OHKOes Umbreon (it's outsped). Alternatively, Weezing can take down Vileplume+Murkrow with a PRZCureBerry, 2HKOing Vileplume with Sludge Bomb+Fire Blast and Murkrow with Sludge Bomb but it absolutely needs to hit.

Lance (41): Can explode on Gyarados/lvl 47 Dnite/Charizard. Level 50 Dragonite is a range and Aerodactyl defeats Weezing.


Rival (23) : Outspeed and 2HKOes Haunter (if it uses Curse) with Bite. Flee Magnemite. Bayleef wins as it 3HKOes with Razor Leaf while Headbutt only 4HKOes. 3HKOes Zubat with Pay Day.

Morty (25) : Meowth outspeeds Gastly and both Haunter. Bite OHKOes Gastly after Curse and is a range for the 2HKO on Haunter #1 while Haunter #2 is 3HKOed. If Meowth doesn't get the range, it will lose to Haunter #2 that can Mimic Bite and ko at mid-hp with Bite. Gengar outspeeds and is 4HKOed by Bite only so Meowth will lose against it.

Chuck (30) : PB Return 2HKOes Primeape and 3HKOes Poliwrath. It's hard to win as Poliwrath gets 2 turns to attack.

Jasmine (30) : Nop.

Pryce (31) : PB Return 2HKOes Seel, is a range on Dewgong and 3HKOes Piloswine. Icy Wind + Aurora Beam + Fury Attack +Blizzard koes but Persian should beat the Seel line before falling to Piloswine.

Rival (33) : 2HKOes Golbat and Sneasel with PB Return and 2HKOes Haunter with Bite. Meganium is 3HKOed by PB Return but does a ton of damages and it means Persian will only defeat it and Haunter so avoid fighting it. Pretty bad as Persian struggles to beat more than 3 mons.

Clair (38) : Return 2HKOes Dragonair while they only 4HKO with special moves so with a PRZCureBerry, Persian can beat the 3 of them.

Rival (40) : 2HKOes Sneasel and Golbat with Return. Golbat surprisngly does a lot with Wing Attack after Screech and will win if Persian hits itself and takes a Wing Attack. OHKOes Kadabra with Return and Haunter with Bite after Curse. Avoid Meganium as Razor Leaf does a lot and Reflect is annoying and Magneton.

Will (40) : PB Return OHKOes Jynx, 2HKOes Xatu and 3HKOes the rest. Psychic from everything 2HKOes so Persian will struggle beating more than 2 mons.

Koga (41) : PB Return 2HKOes Ariados and Venomoth. Avoid the rest.

Bruno (41) : Just beats Hitmontop, 3HKOing with Return. Hitmonlee is 2HKOed and OHKOes back and Hitmonchan 2HKOes with Mach Punch.

Karen (41) : Avoid Umbreon as Return only 4HKOes. Avoid Vileplume as it 2HKOes with Petal Dance while Return 3HKOes only. Can take on Gengar, outspeeding and 2HKOing with Curse. Surprisingly, Persian beats Houndoom 1v1, outspeeding and 2HKOing with PB Return while barely taking a Flamethrower. It can also take on Murkrow but it's better to deal with Houndoom.

Lance (41) : Can take on Gyarados if it uses Rain Dance turn 1 as it outspeeds and 3HKOes with Return. Avoid the rest.



Jolteon

Easy D-tier on this one. Jolteon simply requires too much investment for a somewhat average performance. First you need to use the DST Trick to get the Thunder Stone and it can take quite some time. Afterwards, you really want the Thunder TM asap because Jolteon really has no STAB and while it's affordable, it's absolutely needed for Chuck. And the Thunder TM means a backtrack to Slowpoke Well before Fly. Performance-wise Jolteon is alright and nothing spectacular. While defeating Chuck was great (and being able to OHKO Poliwrath is something very few things can do), Jolteon was mostly average elsewhere. Jasmine was pretty bad as Jolteon only beats the Magnemite. Pryce wasn't consistent and requires Piloswine not to use Blizzard too much (beating the Seel line was cool tho) and Clair's Kingdra mostly relied on bad AI. While the rival fight is great, the E4 was just decent at best. Will is tricky because it requires using Rain Dance several times, Bruno was bad and Karen not particularly good. Lance was pretty good as Jolteon should beat the non-Dragonite mons and Koga is a sweep most of the time. Overall, Jolteon requires a huge and immediate investment and outside of Chuck and Koga had a mostly average performance, D-tier is fine on it.

Mankey

I want to say C-tier for this mon. Mankey was pretty good once caught and by just giving it Dig and it was incredibly easy to train throughout the run, even when at a lower level. Performant-wise, it was mostly good winning most of the time against Morty and all the time against Pryce. While it couldn't sweep in other major battles, Primeape always had some use, outside of Will and could either take down several Pokemon (Rival fights and from Clair onward) or beat the weakest foes while whittling down the biggest threat (Chuck and Jasmine). Karen felt great as by just landing one DynamicPunch, Umbreon is nearly ko'ed while Primeape could then take on Murkrow and Gengar. Lance was pleasant with elementary Punch and it was cool to see that Primeape can beat Gyarados and 2 Dragonair. All in all, between being really easy to find and train, requiring only the contested Dig TM (elementary punch TMs are really cheap and easy to get), sweeping Morty and Pryce while contributing in other battles especially Karen and Lance, Mankey would be fine in C-tier.

Weezing

While this looks better on paper and probably in my logs than practise, I will still say D-rank. Firstly, Weezing is a 1% encounter with a 60 catch rate at a period when you don't have access to Ultra Ball yet. It also comes at bit low level as you need to fight Rival to get it and doesn't have good attacking options until Sludge at level 21. Later on, it will require the Fire Blast TM as otherwise it's much worse (I didn't feel the need for Thunder outside of Rival's Golbat and Lance's Gyarados honestly). Anywyay, performance-wise, Weezing was decent but not consistent. Morty relied on Rollout and a single miss or getting hit by Hypnosis ruin the strategy. Chuck was hard to win and relied on poisonning Poliwrath. Jasmine requires hitting Fire Blast several times with a miss on Magnemite, possibly costing the victory. Pryce relied on getting a roll and hitting Fire Blast twice. Clair ned paralysis not to happen. The E4 was bad outside of Bruno and Weezing did nothing against Will and only took down the weakest foes against Koga and Karen. While Self-Destruct is admitedly nice, you'd rather keep Weezing and expect more for a Pokemon hard to catch and who relied on a Game Corner TM. Between difficulties to be found, to train, requiring a Game Corner TM and inconsistency, Weezing seems more of a D-tier Pokemon.

Also, Koffing in GS might be E-tier honestly. Weezing was honestly not good but in spite of being easier to find, Koffing has far worse stats and evolves only at level 35. I imagine a bad Chuck, Jasmine, Pryce and possibly Morty fight, with the rival being more difficult. Training Koffing also seems hard as it's a slow and not as strong as its evo.

Meowth

I also want to say D-tier on this one. Meowth and then Persian really felt weak and frail, barely koing stuff while taking lots of damages. This was a problem both in term of training, when it meant going a lot to Pokecenter and in battles where Persian didn't do much. Outside of a quite good Morty and defeating Houndoom 1v1 Persian didn't accomplish much really. With the possible exception of Wigglytuff, it's really outclassed by other Normal-types and doesn't do much in battles. Pay Day is arguably Meowth's greatest asset but even then, it wasn't that good. Levels are lower in this game and Pay Day itself is a weak move, used by a weak mon. Meowth/Persian already had problems training and lots of trips to Pokecenter but it's even worse if it has to use a 40 BP move a ton to earn money. Pay Day has to be used a few hundreds of time to be able to buy a Game Corner TM but it's hard to use this move against trainers. So yeah, D-tier for Meowth, it's bad and PayDay doesn't actually save it.

Next run is going to be :
Poliwhirl (unevolved)/Farfetch'd/Corsola/Haunter, expecting all of them to be D-tier, with the possible exception of Haunter.
 
Did a run with Pinsir, Tauros, Totodile and Spearow. Not gonna post the latter two because they're locked unless you asked me to post it.
=Whitney=
Pinsir L20
Fury Cutter 3HKOs Clefairy and 2HKos Miltank with 3rd + 4th hit in case you missed the 2nd hit on Clefairy and had to restart again.

Needs Fury Cutter to sweep
=Rival 3=
Pinsir L21 @ Pink Bow
Seismic Toss 2HKOs Magnemite
Pink Bow Headbutt 3HKOs Bayleef and is close to 1HKOing Zubat
Pink Bow Strength 1HKOs Zubat and is close to 2HKOing Bayleef

Beats 3 at best
=Morty=
Pinsir L21
Its only move that can touch Gastly (Fury Cutter) deals 1 damage

Bad
=Chuck=
Pinsir L29 @ Mint Berry
Strength 2HKOs Primeape and 3HKOs Poliwrath. Poliwrath almost 2HKOs back with Surf(its guaranteed 2HKO if Primeape went for Karate Chop)

Needs luck to sweep
=Jasmine=
Pinsir L30 @ PRZCureBerry
Seismic Toss 2HKOs the Magnemites and 4HKOs Steelix. All 2HKOs back
Needs Level 34 for Seismic Toss to 3HKO Steelix

Needs PRZCureBerry to beat both Magnemites
=Pryce=
Pinsir L30 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 3HKOs Piloswine, puts Seel in red and is super close to 2HKOing Dewgong. Dewgong outspeeds after an Icy Wind drop

Fury Cutter 3HKOs Seel and the 4th hit is super close to 1HKOing Dewgong.

At level 31, Pink Bow Strength reliably 2HKOs Dewgong, but its close to 2HKOing Piloswine

Without Fury Cutter: Beats 2 at best
=Rival 4=
Pinsir L32 @ PRZCureBerry
Strength 2HKOs Golbat and Sneasel, and 3HKOs Meganium. Golbat 3HKOs back
Seismic Toss 2HKOs Magnemite
If Meganium went for Reflect turn 1, Pinsir is super close to 3HKOing it with Strength into 2 Seismic Toss (guaranteed at Level 33)

Beats 3 at best barring hax. Needs PRZCure Berry to beat Magnemite
=Clair=
Pinsir L38 @ PRZCureBerry
Strength 2HKOs the Dragonairs and 3HKOs Kingdra. Kingdra 2HKOs back, the Dragonairs almost 3HKOs back

Beats 3 Dragonairs at best. Can possibly beat Kingdra 1v1 barring hax
=Rival 5=
Pinsir L38 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 1HKOs Kadabra, 2HKOs Golbat, 3HKOs Meganium without Reflect and is close to 1HKOing Sneasel
Submission has a roll to 1HKO Magneton

Beats 4 at best barring hax
=Will=
Pinsir L40 @ Bitter Berry
Strength 2HKOs Jynx and both Xatus. L42 Xatu outspeeds and 2HKOs back

Beats 1 or 2 at best

At Level 43
+2 Strength 1HKOs both Xatus and puts Exeggutor in red. Exeggutor KOs back if L40 Xatu went for Psychic turn 1
+4 Strength is close to 1HKOing Slowbro

Needs luck to sweep
=Koga=
Pinsir L40
Pink Bow Strength 2HKOs Ariados and Venomoth, 3HKOs Muk and Crobat. Muk and Crobat 2HKOs back after a poison
Seismic Toss 4HKOs Forretress

Beats 2 or 3 at best barring hax
At Level 43
+2 Strength 1HKOs Ariados and Venomoth and puts Muk and Crobat in red
+4 Submission puts Forretress in red
Can sweep barring hax
=Bruno=
Pinsir L41 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 3HKOs Machamp, 2HKOs Chan, puts Lee in red, and is close to 2HKOing Top
Submission 2HKOs Onix
Beats 3 Hitmons at best

At Level 43
Set-up SD twice and 1HKO all. Clean sweep
=Karen=
Pinsir L41
Submission 2HKOs Umbreon
Pink Bow Strength 2HKOs Murkrow and is close to 2HKOing Vileplume

Beats 2 at best

At Level 43
Nope, Can't SD sweep. Houndoom comes in next and still outspeeds and KOs you
=Lance=
Pinsir L43
+4 Strength 1HKOs Gyarados. Gyarados deals half hp back with Rain Surf, Aerodactyl comes in next and KOs you. Pinsir doesn't have enough hp to set-up on the Dragonites
D Tier. Performance-wise, Pinsir is very similar to Heracross (a fellow D-Tier mon) except Pinsir doesn't have Earthquake, but has Swords Dance at Level 43. Even with Swords Dance, its E4 performance is slightly improved at best, it can sweep Koga and Bruno, but Will is shaky as Pinsir gets 2HKOed by L40 Xatu's Psychic into Exeggutor's Psychic (+2 Strength doesn't KO Exeggutor), and Karen and Lance matchups remained awful.

=Rival 3=
Tauros L21 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 1HKOs Zubat, 2HKOs Magnemite and Bayleef

Beats 3 at best
=Morty=
Tauros L22 @ Mint Berry
Surf 2HKOs Gastly and 3HKOs L21 Haunter

meh
=Chuck=
Tauros L30-31 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 1HKOs Primeape and has a roll to 2HKO Poliwrath. Tauros can survive a Dynamic Punch

Can sweep
=Jasmine=
Tauros L30-31 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 2HKOs the Magnemites. Magnemite almost 2HKOs back
Surf 3HKOs Steelix. Steelix almost 1HKOs back after a Screech

Without Fire Blast, it only beats either only Steelix with Surf or both Magnemites with Pink Bow Strength (barring hax), but not all 3 of them
=Pryce=
Tauros L31 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 1HKOs Seel and 2HKOs the rest
Clean sweep
=Rival 4=
Tauros L32 @ PRZCureBerry
Strength 2HKOs Golbat, Sneasel and Magnemite, and 3HKOs Meganium
Surf 3HKOs Haunter
Only beats 3 at best(needs PRZCUre Berry to beat 4)
=Clair=
Tauros L38 @ PRZCureBerry
Strength 2HKOs all bar Kingdra, who is close to 2HKOing (even with Pink Bow). Kingdra almost 2HKOs back

Beats 3 Dragonairs at best. Can only beat Kingdra 1v1 if you're strong enough to 2HKO it.
=Rival 5=
Tauros L38 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 1HKOs Sneasel and Kadabra, 2HKOs Golbat and is super close to 3HKOing Meganium after a Reflect
Earthquake 1HKOs Haunter and Magneton
=Will=
Tauros L30 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 2HKOs both Xatus, 1HKOs Jynx and has a roll to 2HKO Exeggutor. Exeggutor has a roll to KO you after a Psychic from L40 Xatu

Beats 3 at best barring hax. Needs 1 heal to beat 4
=Koga=
Tauros L40 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 2HKOs Ariados and Venomoth, and is close to 2HKOing Crobat
Earthquake 2HKOs Muk and 5HKOs Forretress

Beats 3 or 4 at best barring hax
=Bruno=
Tauros L41 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 2HKOs Top and Chan, and is close to 1HKOing Lee and 2HKOing Machamp
Earthquake 2HKOs Onix

Beats 3 at best (Top, Chan, Onix)
=Karen=
Tauros L41 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 3HKOs Umbreon, 2HKOs Vileplume and puts Murkrow in red
Earthquake puts Gengar and Houndoom in red.

Beats 3 at best
=Lance=
Tauros L42 @ Pink Bow
Pink Bow Strength 3HKOs L47 Dragonite and is super close to 2HKOing Gyarados.

Can take out 1 at best. You need healing to beat another one
Wanted to go B Tier, but i can go for A Tier. I didn't catch Tauros in a Friend Ball because i want to test how it performs without immediate 80 BP Return and i don't want to waste time going to time manipulate for a bunch of Friend Ball. There's a lot of matches where Friend Ball Return mattered a lot, my Return's BP remained nearly identical to Strength around Elite 4 that it didn't change the KO range, even when Strength is close to 2HKOing something (same thing with Pinsir).

As for Totodile, I wanted to mentioned a thing or two:
1.
=Falkner=
Totodile L7-8 @ Berry
Rage 4HKOs Pidgey and 2HKOs Pidgeotto. Both outspeeds and deal 5 and 8 respectively. Totodile barely survives with 1 or 2 HP left, but a Rage sweep is possible even at only Level 7, albeit it needs a Berry

Still an Incredible MU considering its underleveled.
I was surprised Totodile manages to pull off a sweep against Falkner even at only Level 7 (Beating Pidgey gives you instant level up to 8)

2. I taught Totodile Cut just to get past that tree in Ilex Forest, and it didn't actually hampered Totodile's performance in Battle at all even if its stuck with Cut as one of its moves. Totodile generally needs 3 moves at best in battle for the most part (Surf, Ice Punch, and Strength). You can possibly skip out Ice Punch as Bayleef would still beat you due to Haunter's Curse. Rage and Fury Cutter doesn't see other uses past Whitney. I've used Rain Dance as 4th move, but it only sees actual uses around Elite 4, in which the Move Deleter is available to delete Cut.

Also, i did mentioned i was gonna reviewing my previous nominations, so here's one i'm changing:

:gs/geodude: Previously nommed as A/B.
I can go fully for B Tier, with a possibility of C Tier. I want to say its Falkner matchup is almost irrelevant because, sure it sweeps, but a lot of pokemon can sweep Falkner too, while some of them needed a Berry, most of them aren't getting RNG'ed by Mud-Slap, which makes its matchup against Falkner less valuable.

:gs/krabby: Previously nommed as C
I remember nomming this as C and honestly, idk what was i thinking back then, I'm going straight for D Tier on this one. I still caught Krabby from Old Rod. It can beat Bugsy's Scyther by setting up Harden twice (or possibly 3 times) on Metapod and equipped a Berry, with this Krabby can live 4 consecutive Fury Cutter as Krabby 4HKOs Scyther with ViceGrip. It can possibly beat Whitney with Fury Cutter too. but that's not enough for C Tier placement.
 
Log time!

Butterfree actually has been pretty good so far. Nightmare of all TMs also turned out to be surprisingly strong.

Falkner:

Butterfree (L11): You outpace Pidgey reliably. Tackle, in return, does not even come close to 4HKOing (or 5HKOing). 2HKO with Confusion. Outpace Pidgeotto reliably. Confusion 3-4HKOes Pidgeotto barring possible confusion (lol) while Gust 3HKOes in return. After Harden x4, barring crits (and even including prior damage from 5 non-crit Pidgey Tackles), Gust only 4HKOes you. Even without Harden, quite winnable if you use a Potion or possibly held Berry, and a cakewalk if you use both. A-tier, as a potential crit Gust can KO you if your HP is already in the yellow, or one or two crit Pidgey Tackles could soften you enough for Gust to 3HKO anyway. Pretty solid fight with little if any item support needed, but a small loss chance.

Bugsy:

Butterfree (L16): Confusion 2-3HKOes Metapod while Tackle doesn't even 5HKO in return even outside Harden (which I set up to +4 again). Kakuna is OHKOed. You outspeed both even after one String Shot. Scyther outspeeds you but Fury Cutter does hilariously awful damage until like +4 and he usually switched to Quick Attack after, which…doesn't even 5HKO, even accounting for Metapod Tackle damage. Sustained Fury Cutter, however, DOES 6HKO, and can potentially kill you if it crits you on the 5th hit. Consider using Sleep Powder on Scyther to keep yourself safe, though I didn't need it usually to win and between crits/Confusion/bad AI, I beat Scyther except when I wasn't trying to (and even when I wasn't trying to, at least once). With Sleep Powder, though, I won each time, with him failing to build up Fury Cutter sufficiently. Confusion, however, also only 6HKOes in return not counting Confusion damage, and you may need a Potion if you're in the yellow. A tier, possibly even S.

Rival 2:

Butterfree (L17): Outpace Gastly and OHKO with Confusion. Ditto for Zubat but a 2HKO this time and Bite doesn't even 4HKO in return. Outpace Croconaw, who 6HKOes with Scratch after Bite damage while you outpace and Confusion 5HKOes; best to use Sleep Powder or a Potion to guarantee the matchup. Bayleef does worse and Quilava likely beats you with Ember, idk. Ultimately a B at worst, as you beat ⅔ of the team at minimum, can potentially beat Quilava (if you are really lucky and/or use a good amount of healing items), and can beat Croconaw fairly reliably even without healing items, barring crits from them.

Whitney:

Butterfree (L20): Outpace, put Clefairy to sleep, set up Harden to +6 (and put Clefairy back to sleep each time she wakes up), 4HKO with Confusion. Watch out for Metronome. Miltank outpaces and 3HKOes you with Rollout (if you're at full health and no crits) and Confusion 6HKOs. Won 1st turn without any items. Second turn, You may need to heal up if you're in the yellow or red due to Metronome shenanigans before Miltank comes in (or after Miltank comes in but is asleep). Second try nearly saw Miltank die but then kill me with a crit second turn (IIRC). Third try went the same way, except I had to waste a Super Potion and an Antidote to heal Butterfree and Miltank still killed me with good ol' 2nd turn crit Rollout from full health while Sleep Powder missed the first turn. Winnable, but pretty risky, inconsistent (lost ⅓ tries and a fourth and fifth time, albeit I also won on another early try and one late try). Item support all but needed, but still not sufficient a significant majority of the time. C tier.

Rival 3:

Butterfree (L21 -> L22 after Magnemite): Haunter outpaced and Curses (or Licks, which does not even 5HKO), then get KOed to Confusion after Curse damage or otherwise 2HKOed. Outpace Magnemite and put to sleep, then switch to a fodder mon for HM purposes to undo Curse if it's there; either way, use Nightmare once you're in and spam Confusion. Three turns of Nightmare and two Confusions are enough to kill Magnemite, while Thundershock 3HKOs in return. Zubat is 2HKOed by Confusion, outsped, and Bite doesn't even 4HKO. You outspeed Croconaw and Water Gun doesn't even 5HKO in return even after Zubat Bite damage. If you stay in after Curse, prepare to have healing items ready. 2 shots of Nightmare and one Confusion kill Croconaw. A-tier, as the Nightmare ™ is surprisingly potent and has fairly low competition, but you may have to do some switch shenanigans due to Curse and Magnemite (and/or may need healing items likely once, and you probably don't need both lol).

1st and 3rd try, needed no items, just needed to switch out after KOing Haunter and being Cursed, then back in safely (which unfortunately meant getting another Pokémon KOed). 2nd try, I actually stayed in after Curse and still beat Magnemite while at red, but swapped out, sacked a Mon, healed Butterfree, and took down Zubat and Croconaw as per normal. Bayleef would likely be easier but Quilava harder, but still beatable if I'm not mistaken. Item support not being needed IMO makes me want to rank this fight very high, but I don't know how Quilava would be. Between that and the necessary swap (and maybe healing if you get unlucky with Sleep Powder missed or crit Thundershocks - quite possible, though almost never happened; the latter did not), Therefore, I'd conservatively say B-tier.

Note: Had I backtracked for Nightmare, I feel I could have won a fair bit more easily, so I oo believe a case for A can be made if you have the TM, even if the backtrack itself kinda sucks. Recommend someone to try it out.

Morty:

Butterfree (L24-> 25 after beating Gastly): Outpaces Gastly and O-2HKOes (Gastly May survive) with Confusion. Outpaces Haunter and 2HKOes with Confusion and is 4HKOed in return by Night Shade. With a Mint Berry, shrugged off Hypnosis from Gengar (who outpaced me) and dodged another, then put him to sleep and used Nightmare. Gengar broke out unfortunately and then got 3HKOed by Confusion. Gengar missed Hypnosis again and wasted time Mean looking. Next Haunter outpaced you and 2HKOes with Night Shade after damage from first Haunter, but still 2HKOed by Confusion (and also got confused and took damage, giving me free time). If you don't risk foolishly like me, having an Awakening on hand and a Hyper/Super Potion is recommended. Second try? Confusion spam, Haunter wasted time using Mean Look, and Gengar missed three Hypnosis in a row before dying. Haunter 4 got off two Night Shades and brought me to yellow but fainted. Lesson: don't use Nightmare here.

Third try? Gastly survived Confusion, fell to another, and used Curse before going down. Haunter got destroyed by crit Confusion. Swapped to another Pokemon to undo Curse, then brought Butterfree back in. Dodged Hypnosis, Gengar wanted time using Mean Look, Gengar managed second Hypnosis but I broke out with Mint Berry and KOed. Haunter fell as usual. A-tier. A held Mint Berry and a swap (or quite a bit of healing) are needed to ensure the matchup, and Gengar's Hypnosis shenanigans can potentially screw you over.

Current Ranking (so far): A/B
 
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Sorry for the double post; I was waiting for others to post, but seems like only I made it so far? I finished the test!

Chuck

Butterfree (L30): Primeape outspeeds and building Rage does not even 2HKO unless he crits on turn 2, neither does a 3-hit non-crit Fury Swipes following Leer. Consider using Sleep Powder first to be a bit safer (Rage still builds up, but at least he cannot attack). Confusion 2-3HKOs. You outspeed Poliwrath and should use Sleep Powder but note as Chuck will use a Full Heal immediately next turn, so be prepared to put him back to sleep immediately after again. Poliwrath Surf will 2HKO after two non-crit built up Rages so you need sleep to win, and he may try to use Hypnosis instead too. Nightmare x2 + Confusion x 3 kill. A-tier, won reliably all 3 times with zero item support, but a loss or item use may be needed if Primeape does too much damage and/or Sleep Powder accuracy proves iffy against Wrath and Surf crits.

Tauros (L26 -> L27 after Primeape): PB Tauros outspeeds and nearly OHKOes (so 2HKOes) with Return, while taking little from Fury Swipe and can live even a crit - 25% likely so pretty likely - Karate Chop (so 3HKOed by normal Chop). Outspeeds and 3HKOes Wrath with PB Return but gets OHKOed by Dynamicpunch if it hits. Lost on 1st try due to Mind Reader + Dynamicpunch, but second try and third try he kept spamming Dynamicpunch but missed (yes, no Mind Reader) and I won; interestingly, both times, Ape critted me with Karate Chop and I lived. B-tier IMO, quite winnable due to Dynamicpunch having hilariously bad accuracy A 4th try, Ape used Fury Swipes and did little damage, and Wrath…missed both hits again and got 3HKOed again. Should be B-tier, yet it felt like an A? I say A, but can be swayed. PB Strength also 2HKOes Primeape, only just behind PB Return, and Strength also 3HKOes reliably so you do not need to Friend Ball and stuff. I would have placed him in B for the Friend Ball time + capture investment, but Strength literally took him apart (on a 5th try) so easy A it is.

Jasmine:

Butterfree (L30): The first bad gym matchup…or is it? Outpace Magnemite and Sleep Powder + Nightmare. Thunderbolt 2HKOes-OHKOes if it lands (even the 2HKO is nearly OHKOes so any prior damage or a crit ends you). Magnemite 1 kept waking up on Turn 1 and killed me. Second turn, missed Sleep Powder twice and died to Magnemite 1. Third try, two Nightmares and two Confusions (should be 3 normally I think, the first critted) killed. Magnemite 2 fell the same way but took 3 Confusions. Outpace Steelix and Sleep while Hardening up to +2 (allows Rock Throw to only 2HKO, +1 might too if I eyeballed correctly but not nearly as safe obviously) before he woke up. Put him back to sleep and used Nightmare again…only to die. Should have used Rock Throw, meh. Technically winnable, but you need quite a bit of luck and possibly a Hyper Potion for more (Jasmine uses one too so prepare for a long and grueling fight), not even counting crits. D is probably a little too low as I actually beat the Magnemites AND Steelix solo on a 4th try and did not even need a Hyper Potion, so C it is as the RNG requirement is a little too critical here. Do not spam Harden like I did, use Sleep Powder -> Nightmare -> Confusion (but do one Harden if you are at full health), and use a Hyper Potion before if needed. Put him to sleep again if he wakes up and reapply Nightmare.

Butterfree can actually beat anyone here one-on-one (not guaranteed, but very possible) surprisingly, and has a not insignificant chance of even beating two Magnemites. Beating all 3 is on the improbable side though.

Tauros (L28): PB Return easily 2HKOes (while non-PB Return 2-3HKOes) in spite of resistance. PB Strength 2-3HKOes and unreliably 2HKOes so Return is really better. Thunderbolt astonishingly and reliably 2HKOes you in return from both Mites, so pack a Hyper Potion or two too. Thunder Wave and Supersonic, especially together, can be simply vile and set you up for one Mite to kill you through Hyper Potion healing even if the other falls. A held Przcureberry may actually be better for you than a Pink Bow, as Return can still 2HKO (if not guaranteed). Surf does pitiful damage to Steelix, not even a 3HKO (a 4HKO, actually). You can live a Screech-boosted Iron Tail from full HP, if barely and not guaranteed. DEFINITELY heal if your HP ever falls yellow against Steelix. You outpace everyone here unless paralyzed. Tauros, like Butterfree, can struggle against the Mites (or Mite, even) alone and a crit Thunderbolt OHKOes you still. Like Butterfree, you can pull through the Mites sans item support and all of them with some healing item support - with Steelix, missed Iron Tails or crit Surfs make it a real if unlikely possibility, albeit a held Przcureberry may be necessary. I needed to spam Super Potions on like a 3rd or 4th try just to fish for Iron Tail misses as Iron Tail kept 2HKOing and hitting. C (but can even accept D), IMO…normally the Friend Ball dependence for Return pushes it to a D. Even BUTTERFREE did better against Steelix, for crying out loud.

Like Butterfree, Tauros can solo one or two Magnemites or die to one crit. Unlike Butterfree, Tauros CANNOT beat Steelix one-on-one unless you crit twice with Surf or something lol.

Pryce:

Butterfree (L31 -> L32 after Seel): Outpace Seel but missed two Sleep Powders; however, even an Icy Wind and Aurora Beam back to back didn't even bring Butterfree to yellow range, and the 3rd Sleep Powder worked thankfully. From there, two hits of Nightmare and two Confusions (one was a crit) killed Seel. Seel stayed asleep the entire time. Unfortunately, Dewgong outsped me due to Icy Wind slowing me down earlier and hit me with an Aurora Beam but I lived, but I put him to sleep successfully and used Nightmare. Unfortunately, on the turn of Nightmare damage, Dewgong woke up and killed me with a second Aurora Beam. R2 went similarly as R1, but this time I needed three hits from Confusion (instead of two) and I put Seel asleep on the second turn instead of missing twice - did miss the first time and got Icy Winded again, being slowed down. Dewgong outpaced me and Aurora Beamed me into lower yellow range but got out to sleep and Nightmares. However, three turns of Nightmare and two Confusions killed Dewgong. Outpaced Piloswine even with -1 Speed and out to sleep first turn and Nightmared after…only for Piloswine to wake up and Blizzard me, KOing. R3, put Seel to sleep 1st try, who fell as before. Outsped Dewgong (due to not being -1ed) and out to sleep 1st try, Nightmared and did damage immediately on the same turn I used it due to going faster this time. Dewgong unfortunately woke up right after and Aurora Beamed me but kept me in the low green, implying it's a 3HKO. Tried Sleep Powder again but missed and got Aurora Beamed again, surviving with barely any HP left. Tried again and got killed. Oh well, looks like Butterfree can reliably outpace Dewgong at L32 and without any speed drops, and gets 3HKOed by Aurora Beam.

This fight is actually winnable by Butterfree, but you will need healing items in the plural for sure due to all those annoying misses and the damage you can take from the Ice trio (likely around Dewgong; using items against Piloswine is too risky due to Blizzard). C-tier, as the chance of misses, accumulated damage not helped at all Blizzard's sheer power (which Butterfree can barely survive from full HP), are problems that make this a really shaky, if still possible, solo sweep. Piloswine and Dewgong both die to two shots of Confusion and three shots of Nightmare (or three shots of Confusion and two shots of Nightmare, alternatively). Without Nightmare, Confusion doesn't even 3HKO Dewgong or Piloswine.

Yes, I won on an unofficial fourth try, and that too sans items. So it really comes down to (good) luck and/or a combination of item spam and reasonable or average luck. That's not enough for a B, but too much for a D.

Tauros (L30-L31 after Seel): Even PB Strength OHKOed Seel, also outspeeding btw. Dewgong is outpaced and solidly 2HKOed and Aurora Beam 4-5HKOes at best. Piloswine is outpaced and reliably 2HKOed too and can waste a turn with Mist. Return does more damage but not enough to change matchups thus far. Tauros can take a non-crit Blizzard after Dewgong's Aurora Beam (so a reliable 2HKO from full health) but falls into the red zone for it. A-tier, IMO, the Blizzard close shave means S is off though.

Rival 4:

Butterfree (34 -> 35 after Feraligatr): You outpace Golbat. Psybeam 2HKOes but Wing Attack 2HKOes in return so out him to sleep first. You outpace Magnemite and put him to sleep, Nightmare x2 + Psybeam x2 kills; Thundershock only 3-4HKOes in return and more rarely, Thunder Wave may be used, which sometimes just fails and/or can be warded off by a Przcureberry. Haunter outpaces and usually Curses or 4HKOes with Shadow Ball and get OHKOed after Curse by Psybeam (2HKOed otherwise). Swap out to remove Curse when Starter comes in. Butterfree outpaces Feraligatr and puts to sleep; three shots of Nightmare and two-three Psybeams kill Feraligatr. Need to put Sneasel to sleep and use Nightmare to do any damage at all. Sneasel outpaces but does pitiful damage with Quick Attack; use Sleep Powder and then Nightmare, reapply sleep and Nightmare if the former fades, and then use Sleep Powder (so Sneasel gets out to sleep again upon waking up) and/or heal in the meantime as Sneasel only has pitiful non-Ice type attacks and weak Faint Attack which doesn't even 4HKO seemingly. You can solo, but item support are likely needed as you are prone to get worn down. Meganium trainers will have a harder fight, Feraligatr trainers an easier one. You can beat pretty much everyone one-on-one and nearly solo with just a bit of luck, and solo outright with healing. Very low B-tier, as missing Sleep Powder can be costly and/or annoying at several points between Golbat and Magnemite. Ironically, Sneasel may be your biggest problem as you are reliant entirely on speed to harm them at all, but they also do little to you (even accounting for previous damage from Feraligatr, though not the others). Nightmare 5HKOes Sneasel so with that and Sleep Powder missed and Sneasel waking up, it can take a while to kill him. A bit tedious, but not a bad matchup overall.

Tauros (L34 -> 35 after Golbat): Outpace Golbat and PB Strength easily 2HKOes (PB Return reliably OHKOes), but Confuse Ray can be annoying. However, even crit Wing Attack probably doesn't 3HKO, so Golbat is basically a joke. Magnemite goes down reliably to two PB Strengths or two PB Returns but Sonicboom is a joke (only 6HKOes) and Thunder Wave is annoying (but Rest can negate it and Sonicbooms are too weak to kill you before you awaken, which is in 2 turns). Best to use Rest against Magnemite as he's a relative joke compared to the ythers. Magnemite never used Thundershock for some reason. You outpace Haunter and Surf 3HKOes Haunter who likes to waste time with Mean Look before using Curse, though he actually got critted by Surf the second time I used it on two tries and hence effectively 2HKOed on two tries before he even got to use Curse at all (and just 2HKOed in general, due to Curse weakening him greatly on the 3rd try, when he finally started with it). You outpace and reliably OHKO Sneasel with PB Strength. PB Strength reliably 2HKOes Feraligatr whom you outspeed and who does dumb damage back with Rage or Water Gun. You may need to use healing only for Confuse Ray, and not at all if you use FB Return instead of Strength. A-tier with a case for S. You very likely will not need to swap out even if Haunter Curses.

Clair:

Butterfree (L38 -> L39 after D-Air 1): Psybeam x2 + Nightmare x2 or Psybeam x4 take out each Dragonair. You Outpace. Best to hold a PrCureberry. Ice Beam/Thunderbolt 3HKOs in return and Slam…5HKOs? Kingdra out speeds and Smokescreen barely affected me but Hyper Beam only 2HKOes from full jealth and Psybeam x5 + Nightmare x5 kills Kingdra, accounting for her own Hyper Potion. All but soloed Clair on my first try even through Smokescreen, only needing to use a Full Restore (lol) from by bag and no held items either. Second try, only needed a Full Heal and Full Restore. 3rd turn, only a Full Heal and a Hyper Potion, Third try, nearly killed Kingdra if not for a crit Hyper Beam. Surprisingly a pretty winnable fight, but pretty RNG reliant and a mess. I would say B though but I could be convinced of C. On a 4th try, I won with ZERO items required, Kingdra included. The fun part? I ran out of PP for Psybeam, and still took Kingdra out with 3 Psybeams + 6 hits of Nightmare damage + sleep and putting her back to sleep when she awoke. Very luck reliant matchup and item help needed, but not too bad. B. Fight me.

Also NOTE even if Clair uses Full Heal to heal Kingdra, Nightmare WILL keep affecting Kingdra (!!!). Broken glitch.

Tauros (L38): Out speeds and OHKOes all Dragonairs reliably with PB Return (PB Strength falls just short of a kill). Ice Beam/Dragon breath/Thunderbolt/Surf in return 4-5HKOs. Surf 3HKOes while Return reliably 2HKOes Kingdra. PB Strength only seems to 3HKO Kingdra, however, so Friend Ball makes a big difference. Without top happiness at least (and possibly Friend Ball), you are unlikely to clear Kingdra specifically without a well-timed crit and/or Hyper Potions and stuff (status from D-Airs is not really a problem due to Rest and their pathetic offense, but Kingdra is too risky for Rest). Hyper Beam 3HKOes you if I am not mistaken. B normally, but A with Friend Ball Return (you can lose due to potential nasty Smokescreen RNG; lost on my 3rd try after acing the first two, but also aced a fourth try). Idk how easy it is to max out happiness at this point in the game, but I am gonna err on the side of caution and go for a B due to the annoyance of getting Tauros in a Friend Ball.

Rival 5:

Butterfree (L39 -> L40 after Feraligatr): Sneasel cannot be damaged outside Nightmare but he cannot damage you back much either with Faint Attack (probably a 6HKO at best barring crits)/Quick Attack/Fury Cutter so it is a matter of time before he succumbs. Spam Harden against Sneasel while he's asleep to prep for Golbat. You speed tie Golbat and 2-3HKO with Psybeam. Nightmare x3 and Psybeam x2 kills Magneton and Feraligatr, you outpace. Thundershock 3-2HKOes. Haunter outpaces and Curses and dies to Psybeam or uses Shadow Ball and 4-5HKOes (and maybe Confuse Ray too) while Psybeam 2HKOes back. Swap out to undo Curse. Kadabra can be annoying as he outpaces and can Disable SP if you miss. Kadabra also keeps using Future Sight ineffectively. Future Sight 4HKOes at best. Boring slog of a fight, but I won without items, just a swap R1. Needed Hyper Potion on R2 due to Haunter and Sneasel from before. Definitely put Kadabra back to sleep unless you want them to Recover. Needed Hyper Potion on R3 due to Golbat still hitting really hard, like 3-2HKO hard, after Harden (seriously? not even a crit). Water Gun from Feraligatr doesn't even 3HKO. Kinda annoying but B tier.

Tauros (L39 -> L40 after Sneasel) - Outspeed and OHKO Sneasel with PB Return. Ditto for Golbat. Earthquake for Magneton and Haunter and OHKO, you Outspeed both. Kadabra gets OHKoed and outpaced by Return. Feraligatr gets 2HKOed. S tier normally, but given that Earthquake is a high value ™, A tier instead.

If you have Rest instead of EQ, you can solidly 2HKO Magneton with PB Return and use Rest to heal off Thunder Wave from Magneton while taking peanuts from Thundershock (not even a. 4HKO). Surf 3HKOes Haunter but Confuse Ray sucks so Full Heal can help there and swap out if Cursed. Feraligatr does peanuts with even crit Slash (3-4HKO at best) and Water Gun isn't even a 4HKO normally. A tier.

Will:

Butterfree (L40): Xatu outpace and 3HKOes (2-3HKOes for Xatu 2) with Psychic. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills. Confuse Ray can be annoying. Jynx narrowly avoids OHKOing you with Ice Punch but does pitiful damage with DoubleSlap. Jynx outspeeds and kills you easily if you have even a BIT of damage. You outpace Exeggutor but Psychic 2HKOes in return. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills Exeggutor. You outpace Slowbro and Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills. Psychic 3HKOes in return Very bad matchup, you need a fair amount of item support (bare minimum 3 Full Restores) AND a decent amount of luck to solo, D-tier. Slowbro is about the only safe -ish opponent for Butterfree due to lack of speed, relative lack of power (though Body Slam can 2HKO in return and paralyze), and a propensity for Cursing futilely.

Tauros (L40): Outspeed and PB Return O-2HKOes Xatu 1 and 2HKOes Xatu 2 (!!!!!!) while Psychic 3HKOes in return from both. Confuse Ray can be annoying. Ditto for Jynx, but OHKO is reliable. Exeggutor is outsped but (reliably) 2HKOed even including Reflect, but 2HKOes back with Psychic. Slowbro 3-2HKOes with Psychic but you 2HKO with Return. Curse bumps Slowbro up to 3HKO; Reflect to 4HKO before Curse. You can sweep the full team with about 2-3 Full Restores, solo any individual member, and likely solo multiple members unaided, but are unlikely to solo the entire team without 2-3 (maybe even 4) Full Restores. B-tier.

Koga:

Tauros (L40 -> 41 after Ariados): Outpaces and O-2HKOes Ariados with PB Return. Ariados generally uses and spam Double Team, so not a problem likely. Giga Drain does pathetic damage, not even 5HKO. Venomoth gets reliably OHKOed. Forretress is a no; Earthquake 5HKOes Forretress while Surf does even less and Explosion OHKOes you from near full health even if Swift does pathetic damage (maybe a 5HKO at best). Crobat outpaces and can be annoying due to Double Team and/or Toxic but Wing Attack does not even 3HKO while Return reliably 2HKOes. You outspeed Muk and reliably 2HKO with PB Return or Earthquake. Kinda unlikely to solo without Full Restores even if you can beat non-Forretress member one-on-one, even if the other members are easier than any of Will’s teammates overall. B-tier.

Butterfree (L40 -> 41 after Forretress): Butterfree outpaces - put Ariados to sleep to prevent Double Teaming and set up Harden x4 for Crobat and others. Be careful as Ariados can Baton Pass Double Teams to an ally (Crobat) if they get to set up. Psybeam reliably 2HKOes. Crobat comes out next and reliably outpaces and Wing Attack 4HKOes after Harden x4 and 2HKOes otherwise (narrowly not an OHKO); your Psybeam reliably 3HKOes, best to keep Crobat asleep before attacking (no need for Nightmare). A Crobat crit can ruin you and Koga likes using Full Restore and two Full Heals on Crobat if you try to put him to skleep. Forretress. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills Forretress but watch out for surprise Explosion that OHKOes. You outpace Forretress, Ariados, and Muk. Venomoth 4HKOes with Psychic and outpaces you. Psybeam 2-3HKOes. Swift from Forretress is a 5HKO. C-tier, you can solo with a solid amount of item support and quite a bit of luck, but do a lot better than versus Will overall. A crit Wing Attack or a normal Explosion can ruin your day. Sludge Bomb from Muk reliably 2HKOes you unless you use Harden while Psybeam 4HKOes

Bruno:

Tauros (L41 -> L42 after Chan): Outspeeds Hitmontop and 2HKOes with Pink Bow Return; if Top uses Dig, use EQ to nuke him, even though Dig does not even 5HKO you in return normally. Outpaces and OHKOes Hitmonlee and O-2HKOes Hitmonchan with PB Return while Mach Punch 4HKOes you in return. Outpace and 2HKO Machamp with PB Return solidly but get O-2HKOed by Cross Chop. Surf OHKOes Onix. B-tier. Cannot solo unless really lucky but you can destroy 5/6ths of his team easily, Machamp aside, without any healing needed.

Butterfree (L41): Quick Attack only 5HKOes while Psybeam reliably 3HKOes Top. Consider setting up Harden to +6 here just to be safe while putting Top to sleep, pretty easy. Outpace Onix and Rock Slide 3HKOes you reliably at +6 alone. Psybeam 3HKOes Onix. You outpace Hitmonchan and get 4-5HKOed by elemental punches while Psybeam 2-3HKOes. You outpace Machamp but Rock Slide 2HKOes you in return from full HP at +6 while Psybeam 6HKOes accounting for healing items. Hitmonlee gets 3HKOed and outpaces you but does like only 2 points of damage with Double Kick or even Hi Jump Kick. Can solo potentially but you will probably need one Full Restore to guarantee due to potential crits/untimely misses/Sleep Powders, at best two but likely no more. B-tier.

Karen:

Tauros (L41 -> 42 after Gengar): Outspeeds Umbreon and 2-3HKOes with Pink Bow Return; Sand-Attack spam can be annoying and Confuse Ray, but Faint Attack only 4-5HKOes. Swap out to undo Sand-Attacks. Outpaces Vileplume and reliably 2HKOes with Return while being reliably 3HKOed by Petal Dance in return (but closer to 2HKOed if you take Faint Attack beatdown). Tauros outpaces Houndoom and 2HKOs with PB Return or Earthquake while being 2HKOed back with Flamethrower. Outpaces Gengar and O-2HKOes with Earthquake. Outpaces Muirkrow and OHKOes with PB Return. B-tier, as you need EQ to touch Gengar and Umbreon and Vileplume can be annoying, but otherwise A-tier and you hopefully need like only one or two Full Restores to guarantee a win.

Butterfree (L42): You outpace Umbreon and Nightmare 4HKOes while Faint Attack 5HKOes. Spam Harden while letting Nightmare do its job. Confuse Ray and Sand-Attack can be annoying. Full Restore needed. Houndoom appears next but is a no; she outspeeds and OHKOes with Flamethrower. Reliably outpaces Vileplume and Psybeam reliably 3HKOes. Gengar outpaces you but can be annoying with Lick paralysis (but does relatively pitiful damage) and Curse and is only 2HKOed by Psybeam after Curse (so normally 3HKOed). Murkrow outpaces but Faint Attack only 3-4HKOes only; Nightmare 4HKOes. You are not beating Houndoom and need healing/switch support for Curse/Sand-Attack/Confuse Ray, while Destiny Bond can be a problem unless you keep Gengar asleep. C-tier.

Lance:

Butterfree (L43 -> L44 after D-Nite 2): Speed ties Gyarados who usually starts with Rain Dance and often uses weak Flail. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x2 or Nightmare x4 + Psybeam x1 kills Gyara. Rain boosted Surf 3-2HKOes tho. Dragonite 1 outpaces and likes to use Thunder (just under an OHKO) but it can miss. D-Nite 2 can use Blizzard similarly for a nearly kill; D-Nite 3 makes it a certain kill with Fire Blast. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x2-3 kills all 3 D-Nites. Hyper Beam likely fails to OHKO but only if you are at full HP. Charizard and Aerodactyl are a no, both outspeed and OHKO with STABs. D-tier, very luck reliant and you are simply not beating at least 2 members (Zard and Aero) even individually. You can beat Gyara and D-Nite 1 but you are unlikely to get far farther without some real good luck and Sleep POwder.

Tauros (L42 -> L43 after D-Nite 2): You outpace Gyarados and reliably 2HKO with PB Return; Rain-boosted Surf 3HKOes (may be able to 2HKO you on a roll) . Ditto for L47 and L50 Dragonites; Twister in return 5HKOes only, Thunder/Blizzard 3HKOes (may be able to 2HKO you on a roll, L50 D-Nite can 2HKO reliably with Outrage and Fire Blast) and Hyper Beam 2HKOes you. Aero outspeeds but Hyper Beam (strongest move for Aero, Ancient Power and Wing Attack are way weaker, even Rock Slide is quite a bit weaker but can be annoying due to flinches) only 3HKOes. Amazingly, Surf/Blizzard only 3HKOes back, and so does PB Return. You outpace Charizard and reliably 2HKO with Pink Bow Return but get 2HKOed by Flamethrower. You outpace D-Nite 3 and 2HKO with Blizzard/PB Return (Return MAY be a 3HKO roll though). B-tier, as you can nearly solo but will probably need to heal quite a bit between status and HP losses and maybe switch to do so effectively. You can take anyone one-on-one and even multiple members, but unlikely to truly solo. No, you do not need Blizzard in this fight.

Caterpie Final Verdict so far:

Rating Tally:

S (5): Bugsy
A (4): Falkner, Morty, Chuck, Clair
B (3): Rival 2, Rival 3, Rival 4, Rival 5, Bruno
C (2): Whitney, Rival 5, Pryce, Jasmine, Karen, Koga
D (1): Will, Lance
E (0.5): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 17

Rating score for Graveler (No Trade): ((5 + 16 + 15 + 12 + 2) / 17) = 2.94 (B-)

Conclusion: Rise to B Tier, but may be fine in C. Surprisingly a beast and Sleep Powder + Nightmare consistently helped me sweep quite a few teams or beat individual opponents on three or more successive tries from the midgame onward, even ones with elemental advantages. Starts very strong and is even solid in the mid to early lategame, but really really falls off around the E4, though still surprisingly useful and capable of beating tanky mons or ones with SE moves like Lance D-Nites (though likely not all 3). Confusion and Psybeam do serviceable damage for most of the game but, of course, are kind of terrible in the endgame. Can be very time-consuming to use so I could see that dropping Butterfree to C.

Grading Point Legend

S
= 5 grade points
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points
C = 2 grade points
D = 1 grade point
E = 0.5 grade points
F = 0 grade points

Tauros Final Verdict so far:

Rating Tally:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Chuck, Pryce, Rival 4, Rival 5
B (3): Clair, Koga, Will, Bruno, Karen, Lance
C (2): N/A
D (1): Jasmine
E (0.5): N/A
F (0): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 11

Rating score for Tauros: ((16 + 18 + 1) / 11) = (35/11) = 3.18 (B)

Conclusion: B Tier. Kinda annoying to get a Friend Ball Tauros in spite of the extra power and then have to train him up to speed from a relatively low level of L15 - killing mooks still takes time, as good Tauros is at it - and hence sacrifice training your others, but very strong physically, fast, and bulky. That said, I preferred Furret as Furret had a much more usable Special Attack, better movepool (Curlout and Dig, for starters), and more truly dominant performances - albeit those can be owed to Furret coming earlier in the game too, which further makes me believe Tauros belongs below A. Tauros really has a coverage issue and seems specially frail, and ultimately, as strong as PB Friend Ball Return is, it really lacks consistent OHKOing power (and against some tanks, 2HKOing power) against certain enemies. Being able to hit foes super-effectively and hard ultimately trumps just hitting hard. Tauros is a solid Pokemon, don't get me wrong, but is he worth the investment? I kinda doubt it, and I would most certainly not favor a move to A at this time. If you forgo the Friend Ball route, Strength is what you will have for a while and it performs worse enough to keep Tauros in B.

Next time, I plan to test Mantine and Dunsparce.
 
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Sorry for the double post; I was waiting for others to post, but seems like only I made it so far? I finished the test!

Chuck

Butterfree (L30): Primeape outspeeds and building Rage does not even 2HKO unless he crits on turn 2, neither does a 3-hit non-crit Fury Swipes following Leer. Consider using Sleep Powder first to be a bit safer (Rage still builds up, but at least he cannot attack). Confusion 2-3HKOs. You outspeed Poliwrath and should use Sleep Powder but note as Chuck will use a Full Heal immediately next turn, so be prepared to put him back to sleep immediately after again. Poliwrath Surf will 2HKO after two non-crit built up Rages so you need sleep to win, and he may try to use Hypnosis instead too. Nightmare x2 + Confusion x 3 kill. A-tier, won reliably all 3 times with zero item support, but a loss or item use may be needed if Primeape does too much damage and/or Sleep Powder accuracy proves iffy against Wrath and Surf crits.

Tauros (L26 -> L27 after Primeape): PB Tauros outspeeds and nearly OHKOes (so 2HKOes) with Return, while taking little from Fury Swipe and can live even a crit - 25% likely so pretty likely - Karate Chop (so 3HKOed by normal Chop). Outspeeds and 3HKOes Wrath with PB Return but gets OHKOed by Dynamicpunch if it hits. Lost on 1st try due to Mind Reader + Dynamicpunch, but second try and third try he kept spamming Dynamicpunch but missed (yes, no Mind Reader) and I won; interestingly, both times, Ape critted me with Karate Chop and I lived. B-tier IMO, quite winnable due to Dynamicpunch having hilariously bad accuracy A 4th try, Ape used Fury Swipes and did little damage, and Wrath…missed both hits again and got 3HKOed again. Should be B-tier, yet it felt like an A? I say A, but can be swayed. PB Strength also 2HKOes Primeape, only just behind PB Return, and Strength also 3HKOes reliably so you do not need to Friend Ball and stuff. I would have placed him in B for the Friend Ball time + capture investment, but Strength literally took him apart (on a 5th try) so easy A it is.

Jasmine:

Butterfree (L30): The first bad gym matchup…or is it? Outpace Magnemite and Sleep Powder + Nightmare. Thunderbolt 2HKOes-OHKOes if it lands (even the 2HKO is nearly OHKOes so any prior damage or a crit ends you). Magnemite 1 kept waking up on Turn 1 and killed me. Second turn, missed Sleep Powder twice and died to Magnemite 1. Third try, two Nightmares and two Confusions (should be 3 normally I think, the first critted) killed. Magnemite 2 fell the same way but took 3 Confusions. Outpace Steelix and Sleep while Hardening up to +2 (allows Rock Throw to only 2HKO, +1 might too if I eyeballed correctly but not nearly as safe obviously) before he woke up. Put him back to sleep and used Nightmare again…only to die. Should have used Rock Throw, meh. Technically winnable, but you need quite a bit of luck and possibly a Hyper Potion for more (Jasmine uses one too so prepare for a long and grueling fight), not even counting crits. D is probably a little too low as I actually beat the Magnemites AND Steelix solo on a 4th try and did not even need a Hyper Potion, so C it is as the RNG requirement is a little too critical here. Do not spam Harden like I did, use Sleep Powder -> Nightmare -> Confusion (but do one Harden if you are at full health), and use a Hyper Potion before if needed. Put him to sleep again if he wakes up and reapply Nightmare.

Butterfree can actually beat anyone here one-on-one (not guaranteed, but very possible) surprisingly, and has a not insignificant chance of even beating two Magnemites. Beating all 3 is on the improbable side though.

Tauros (L28): PB Return easily 2HKOes (while non-PB Return 2-3HKOes) in spite of resistance. PB Strength 2-3HKOes and unreliably 2HKOes so Return is really better. Thunderbolt astonishingly and reliably 2HKOes you in return from both Mites, so pack a Hyper Potion or two too. Thunder Wave and Supersonic, especially together, can be simply vile and set you up for one Mite to kill you through Hyper Potion healing even if the other falls. A held Przcureberry may actually be better for you than a Pink Bow, as Return can still 2HKO (if not guaranteed). Surf does pitiful damage to Steelix, not even a 3HKO (a 4HKO, actually). You can live a Screech-boosted Iron Tail from full HP, if barely and not guaranteed. DEFINITELY heal if your HP ever falls yellow against Steelix. You outpace everyone here unless paralyzed. Tauros, like Butterfree, can struggle against the Mites (or Mite, even) alone and a crit Thunderbolt OHKOes you still. Like Butterfree, you can pull through the Mites sans item support and all of them with some healing item support - with Steelix, missed Iron Tails or crit Surfs make it a real if unlikely possibility, albeit a held Przcureberry may be necessary. I needed to spam Super Potions on like a 3rd or 4th try just to fish for Iron Tail misses as Iron Tail kept 2HKOing and hitting. C (but can even accept D), IMO…normally the Friend Ball dependence for Return pushes it to a D. Even BUTTERFREE did better against Steelix, for crying out loud.

Like Butterfree, Tauros can solo one or two Magnemites or die to one crit. Unlike Butterfree, Tauros CANNOT beat Steelix one-on-one unless you crit twice with Surf or something lol.

Pryce:

Butterfree (L31 -> L32 after Seel): Outpace Seel but missed two Sleep Powders; however, even an Icy Wind and Aurora Beam back to back didn't even bring Butterfree to yellow range, and the 3rd Sleep Powder worked thankfully. From there, two hits of Nightmare and two Confusions (one was a crit) killed Seel. Seel stayed asleep the entire time. Unfortunately, Dewgong outsped me due to Icy Wind slowing me down earlier and hit me with an Aurora Beam but I lived, but I put him to sleep successfully and used Nightmare. Unfortunately, on the turn of Nightmare damage, Dewgong woke up and killed me with a second Aurora Beam. R2 went similarly as R1, but this time I needed three hits from Confusion (instead of two) and I put Seel asleep on the second turn instead of missing twice - did miss the first time and got Icy Winded again, being slowed down. Dewgong outpaced me and Aurora Beamed me into lower yellow range but got out to sleep and Nightmares. However, three turns of Nightmare and two Confusions killed Dewgong. Outpaced Piloswine even with -1 Speed and out to sleep first turn and Nightmared after…only for Piloswine to wake up and Blizzard me, KOing. R3, put Seel to sleep 1st try, who fell as before. Outsped Dewgong (due to not being -1ed) and out to sleep 1st try, Nightmared and did damage immediately on the same turn I used it due to going faster this time. Dewgong unfortunately woke up right after and Aurora Beamed me but kept me in the low green, implying it's a 3HKO. Tried Sleep Powder again but missed and got Aurora Beamed again, surviving with barely any HP left. Tried again and got killed. Oh well, looks like Butterfree can reliably outpace Dewgong at L32 and without any speed drops, and gets 3HKOed by Aurora Beam.

This fight is actually winnable by Butterfree, but you will need healing items in the plural for sure due to all those annoying misses and the damage you can take from the Ice trio (likely around Dewgong; using items against Piloswine is too risky due to Blizzard). C-tier, as the chance of misses, accumulated damage not helped at all Blizzard's sheer power (which Butterfree can barely survive from full HP), are problems that make this a really shaky, if still possible, solo sweep. Piloswine and Dewgong both die to two shots of Confusion and three shots of Nightmare (or three shots of Confusion and two shots of Nightmare, alternatively). Without Nightmare, Confusion doesn't even 3HKO Dewgong or Piloswine.

Yes, I won on an unofficial fourth try, and that too sans items. So it really comes down to (good) luck and/or a combination of item spam and reasonable or average luck. That's not enough for a B, but too much for a D.

Tauros (L30-L31 after Seel): Even PB Strength OHKOed Seel, also outspeeding btw. Dewgong is outpaced and solidly 2HKOed and Aurora Beam 4-5HKOes at best. Piloswine is outpaced and reliably 2HKOed too and can waste a turn with Mist. Return does more damage but not enough to change matchups thus far. Tauros can take a non-crit Blizzard after Dewgong's Aurora Beam (so a reliable 2HKO from full health) but falls into the red zone for it. A-tier, IMO, the Blizzard close shave means S is off though.

Rival 4:

Butterfree (34 -> 35 after Feraligatr): You outpace Golbat. Psybeam 2HKOes but Wing Attack 2HKOes in return so out him to sleep first. You outpace Magnemite and put him to sleep, Nightmare x2 + Psybeam x2 kills; Thundershock only 3-4HKOes in return and more rarely, Thunder Wave may be used, which sometimes just fails and/or can be warded off by a Przcureberry. Haunter outpaces and usually Curses or 4HKOes with Shadow Ball and get OHKOed after Curse by Psybeam (2HKOed otherwise). Swap out to remove Curse when Starter comes in. Butterfree outpaces Feraligatr and puts to sleep; three shots of Nightmare and two-three Psybeams kill Feraligatr. Need to put Sneasel to sleep and use Nightmare to do any damage at all. Sneasel outpaces but does pitiful damage with Quick Attack; use Sleep Powder and then Nightmare, reapply sleep and Nightmare if the former fades, and then use Sleep Powder (so Sneasel gets out to sleep again upon waking up) and/or heal in the meantime as Sneasel only has pitiful non-Ice type attacks and weak Faint Attack which doesn't even 4HKO seemingly. You can solo, but item support are likely needed as you are prone to get worn down. Meganium trainers will have a harder fight, Feraligatr trainers an easier one. You can beat pretty much everyone one-on-one and nearly solo with just a bit of luck, and solo outright with healing. Very low B-tier, as missing Sleep Powder can be costly and/or annoying at several points between Golbat and Magnemite. Ironically, Sneasel may be your biggest problem as you are reliant entirely on speed to harm them at all, but they also do little to you (even accounting for previous damage from Feraligatr, though not the others). Nightmare 5HKOes Sneasel so with that and Sleep Powder missed and Sneasel waking up, it can take a while to kill him. A bit tedious, but not a bad matchup overall.

Tauros (L34 -> 35 after Golbat): Outpace Golbat and PB Strength easily 2HKOes (PB Return reliably OHKOes), but Confuse Ray can be annoying. However, even crit Wing Attack probably doesn't 3HKO, so Golbat is basically a joke. Magnemite goes down reliably to two PB Strengths or two PB Returns but Sonicboom is a joke (only 6HKOes) and Thunder Wave is annoying (but Rest can negate it and Sonicbooms are too weak to kill you before you awaken, which is in 2 turns). Best to use Rest against Magnemite as he's a relative joke compared to the ythers. Magnemite never used Thundershock for some reason. You outpace Haunter and Surf 3HKOes Haunter who likes to waste time with Mean Look before using Curse, though he actually got critted by Surf the second time I used it on two tries and hence effectively 2HKOed on two tries before he even got to use Curse at all (and just 2HKOed in general, due to Curse weakening him greatly on the 3rd try, when he finally started with it). You outpace and reliably OHKO Sneasel with PB Strength. PB Strength reliably 2HKOes Feraligatr whom you outspeed and who does dumb damage back with Rage or Water Gun. You may need to use healing only for Confuse Ray, and not at all if you use FB Return instead of Strength. A-tier with a case for S. You very likely will not need to swap out even if Haunter Curses.

Clair:

Butterfree (L38 -> L39 after D-Air 1): Psybeam x2 + Nightmare x2 or Psybeam x4 take out each Dragonair. You Outpace. Best to hold a PrCureberry. Ice Beam/Thunderbolt 3HKOs in return and Slam…5HKOs? Kingdra out speeds and Smokescreen barely affected me but Hyper Beam only 2HKOes from full jealth and Psybeam x5 + Nightmare x5 kills Kingdra, accounting for her own Hyper Potion. All but soloed Clair on my first try even through Smokescreen, only needing to use a Full Restore (lol) from by bag and no held items either. Second try, only needed a Full Heal and Full Restore. 3rd turn, only a Full Heal and a Hyper Potion, Third try, nearly killed Kingdra if not for a crit Hyper Beam. Surprisingly a pretty winnable fight, but pretty RNG reliant and a mess. I would say B though but I could be convinced of C. On a 4th try, I won with ZERO items required, Kingdra included. The fun part? I ran out of PP for Psybeam, and still took Kingdra out with 3 Psybeams + 6 hits of Nightmare damage + sleep and putting her back to sleep when she awoke. Very luck reliant matchup and item help needed, but not too bad. B. Fight me.

Also NOTE even if Clair uses Full Heal to heal Kingdra, Nightmare WILL keep affecting Kingdra (!!!). Broken glitch.

Tauros (L38): Out speeds and OHKOes all Dragonairs reliably with PB Return (PB Strength falls just short of a kill). Ice Beam/Dragon breath/Thunderbolt/Surf in return 4-5HKOs. Surf 3HKOes while Return reliably 2HKOes Kingdra. PB Strength only seems to 3HKO Kingdra, however, so Friend Ball makes a big difference. Without top happiness at least (and possibly Friend Ball), you are unlikely to clear Kingdra specifically without a well-timed crit and/or Hyper Potions and stuff (status from D-Airs is not really a problem due to Rest and their pathetic offense, but Kingdra is too risky for Rest). Hyper Beam 3HKOes you if I am not mistaken. B normally, but A with Friend Ball Return (you can lose due to potential nasty Smokescreen RNG; lost on my 3rd try after acing the first two, but also aced a fourth try). Idk how easy it is to max out happiness at this point in the game, but I am gonna err on the side of caution and go for a B due to the annoyance of getting Tauros in a Friend Ball.

Rival 5:

Butterfree (L39 -> L40 after Feraligatr): Sneasel cannot be damaged outside Nightmare but he cannot damage you back much either with Faint Attack (probably a 6HKO at best barring crits)/Quick Attack/Fury Cutter so it is a matter of time before he succumbs. Spam Harden against Sneasel while he's asleep to prep for Golbat. You speed tie Golbat and 2-3HKO with Psybeam. Nightmare x3 and Psybeam x2 kills Magneton and Feraligatr, you outpace. Thundershock 3-2HKOes. Haunter outpaces and Curses and dies to Psybeam or uses Shadow Ball and 4-5HKOes (and maybe Confuse Ray too) while Psybeam 2HKOes back. Swap out to undo Curse. Kadabra can be annoying as he outpaces and can Disable SP if you miss. Kadabra also keeps using Future Sight ineffectively. Future Sight 4HKOes at best. Boring slog of a fight, but I won without items, just a swap R1. Needed Hyper Potion on R2 due to Haunter and Sneasel from before. Definitely put Kadabra back to sleep unless you want them to Recover. Needed Hyper Potion on R3 due to Golbat still hitting really hard, like 3-2HKO hard, after Harden (seriously? not even a crit). Water Gun from Feraligatr doesn't even 3HKO. Kinda annoying but B tier.

Tauros (L39 -> L40 after Sneasel) - Outspeed and OHKO Sneasel with PB Return. Ditto for Golbat. Earthquake for Magneton and Haunter and OHKO, you Outspeed both. Kadabra gets OHKoed and outpaced by Return. Feraligatr gets 2HKOed. S tier normally, but given that Earthquake is a high value ™, A tier instead.

If you have Rest instead of EQ, you can solidly 2HKO Magneton with PB Return and use Rest to heal off Thunder Wave from Magneton while taking peanuts from Thundershock (not even a. 4HKO). Surf 3HKOes Haunter but Confuse Ray sucks so Full Heal can help there and swap out if Cursed. Feraligatr does peanuts with even crit Slash (3-4HKO at best) and Water Gun isn't even a 4HKO normally. A tier.

Will:

Butterfree (L40): Xatu outpace and 3HKOes (2-3HKOes for Xatu 2) with Psychic. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills. Confuse Ray can be annoying. Jynx narrowly avoids OHKOing you with Ice Punch but does pitiful damage with DoubleSlap. Jynx outspeeds and kills you easily if you have even a BIT of damage. You outpace Exeggutor but Psychic 2HKOes in return. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills Exeggutor. You outpace Slowbro and Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills. Psychic 3HKOes in return Very bad matchup, you need a fair amount of item support (bare minimum 3 Full Restores) AND a decent amount of luck to solo, D-tier. Slowbro is about the only safe -ish opponent for Butterfree due to lack of speed, relative lack of power (though Body Slam can 2HKO in return and paralyze), and a propensity for Cursing futilely.

Tauros (L40): Outspeed and PB Return O-2HKOes Xatu 1 and 2HKOes Xatu 2 (!!!!!!) while Psychic 3HKOes in return from both. Confuse Ray can be annoying. Ditto for Jynx, but OHKO is reliable. Exeggutor is outsped but (reliably) 2HKOed even including Reflect, but 2HKOes back with Psychic. Slowbro 3-2HKOes with Psychic but you 2HKO with Return. Curse bumps Slowbro up to 3HKO; Reflect to 4HKO before Curse. You can sweep the full team with about 2-3 Full Restores, solo any individual member, and likely solo multiple members unaided, but are unlikely to solo the entire team without 2-3 (maybe even 4) Full Restores. B-tier.

Koga:

Tauros (L40 -> 41 after Ariados): Outpaces and O-2HKOes Ariados with PB Return. Ariados generally uses and spam Double Team, so not a problem likely. Giga Drain does pathetic damage, not even 5HKO. Venomoth gets reliably OHKOed. Forretress is a no; Earthquake 5HKOes Forretress while Surf does even less and Explosion OHKOes you from near full health even if Swift does pathetic damage (maybe a 5HKO at best). Crobat outpaces and can be annoying due to Double Team and/or Toxic but Wing Attack does not even 3HKO while Return reliably 2HKOes. You outspeed Muk and reliably 2HKO with PB Return or Earthquake. Kinda unlikely to solo without Full Restores even if you can beat non-Forretress member one-on-one, even if the other members are easier than any of Will’s teammates overall. B-tier.

Butterfree (L40 -> 41 after Forretress): Butterfree outpaces - put Ariados to sleep to prevent Double Teaming and set up Harden x4 for Crobat and others. Be careful as Ariados can Baton Pass Double Teams to an ally (Crobat) if they get to set up. Psybeam reliably 2HKOes. Crobat comes out next and reliably outpaces and Wing Attack 4HKOes after Harden x4 and 2HKOes otherwise (narrowly not an OHKO); your Psybeam reliably 3HKOes, best to keep Crobat asleep before attacking (no need for Nightmare). A Crobat crit can ruin you and Koga likes using Full Restore and two Full Heals on Crobat if you try to put him to skleep. Forretress. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x3 kills Forretress but watch out for surprise Explosion that OHKOes. You outpace Forretress, Ariados, and Muk. Venomoth 4HKOes with Psychic and outpaces you. Psybeam 2-3HKOes. Swift from Forretress is a 5HKO. C-tier, you can solo with a solid amount of item support and quite a bit of luck, but do a lot better than versus Will overall. A crit Wing Attack or a normal Explosion can ruin your day. Sludge Bomb from Muk reliably 2HKOes you unless you use Harden while Psybeam 4HKOes

Bruno:

Tauros (L41 -> L42 after Chan): Outspeeds Hitmontop and 2HKOes with Pink Bow Return; if Top uses Dig, use EQ to nuke him, even though Dig does not even 5HKO you in return normally. Outpaces and OHKOes Hitmonlee and O-2HKOes Hitmonchan with PB Return while Mach Punch 4HKOes you in return. Outpace and 2HKO Machamp with PB Return solidly but get O-2HKOed by Cross Chop. Surf OHKOes Onix. B-tier. Cannot solo unless really lucky but you can destroy 5/6ths of his team easily, Machamp aside, without any healing needed.

Butterfree (L41): Quick Attack only 5HKOes while Psybeam reliably 3HKOes Top. Consider setting up Harden to +6 here just to be safe while putting Top to sleep, pretty easy. Outpace Onix and Rock Slide 3HKOes you reliably at +6 alone. Psybeam 3HKOes Onix. You outpace Hitmonchan and get 4-5HKOed by elemental punches while Psybeam 2-3HKOes. You outpace Machamp but Rock Slide 2HKOes you in return from full HP at +6 while Psybeam 6HKOes accounting for healing items. Hitmonlee gets 3HKOed and outpaces you but does like only 2 points of damage with Double Kick or even Hi Jump Kick. Can solo potentially but you will probably need one Full Restore to guarantee due to potential crits/untimely misses/Sleep Powders, at best two but likely no more. B-tier.

Karen:

Tauros (L41 -> 42 after Gengar): Outspeeds Umbreon and 2-3HKOes with Pink Bow Return; Sand-Attack spam can be annoying and Confuse Ray, but Faint Attack only 4-5HKOes. Swap out to undo Sand-Attacks. Outpaces Vileplume and reliably 2HKOes with Return while being reliably 3HKOed by Petal Dance in return (but closer to 2HKOed if you take Faint Attack beatdown). Tauros outpaces Houndoom and 2HKOs with PB Return or Earthquake while being 2HKOed back with Flamethrower. Outpaces Gengar and O-2HKOes with Earthquake. Outpaces Muirkrow and OHKOes with PB Return. B-tier, as you need EQ to touch Gengar and Umbreon and Vileplume can be annoying, but otherwise A-tier and you hopefully need like only one or two Full Restores to guarantee a win.

Butterfree (L42): You outpace Umbreon and Nightmare 4HKOes while Faint Attack 5HKOes. Spam Harden while letting Nightmare do its job. Confuse Ray and Sand-Attack can be annoying. Full Restore needed. Houndoom appears next but is a no; she outspeeds and OHKOes with Flamethrower. Reliably outpaces Vileplume and Psybeam reliably 3HKOes. Gengar outpaces you but can be annoying with Lick paralysis (but does relatively pitiful damage) and Curse and is only 2HKOed by Psybeam after Curse (so normally 3HKOed). Murkrow outpaces but Faint Attack only 3-4HKOes only; Nightmare 4HKOes. You are not beating Houndoom and need healing/switch support for Curse/Sand-Attack/Confuse Ray, while Destiny Bond can be a problem unless you keep Gengar asleep. C-tier.

Lance:

Butterfree (L43 -> L44 after D-Nite 2): Speed ties Gyarados who usually starts with Rain Dance and often uses weak Flail. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x2 or Nightmare x4 + Psybeam x1 kills Gyara. Rain boosted Surf 3-2HKOes tho. Dragonite 1 outpaces and likes to use Thunder (just under an OHKO) but it can miss. D-Nite 2 can use Blizzard similarly for a nearly kill; D-Nite 3 makes it a certain kill with Fire Blast. Nightmare x3 + Psybeam x2-3 kills all 3 D-Nites. Hyper Beam likely fails to OHKO but only if you are at full HP. Charizard and Aerodactyl are a no, both outspeed and OHKO with STABs. D-tier, very luck reliant and you are simply not beating at least 2 members (Zard and Aero) even individually. You can beat Gyara and D-Nite 1 but you are unlikely to get far farther without some real good luck and Sleep POwder.

Tauros (L42 -> L43 after D-Nite 2): You outpace Gyarados and reliably 2HKO with PB Return; Rain-boosted Surf 3HKOes (may be able to 2HKO you on a roll) . Ditto for L47 and L50 Dragonites; Twister in return 5HKOes only, Thunder/Blizzard 3HKOes (may be able to 2HKO you on a roll, L50 D-Nite can 2HKO reliably with Outrage and Fire Blast) and Hyper Beam 2HKOes you. Aero outspeeds but Hyper Beam (strongest move for Aero, Ancient Power and Wing Attack are way weaker, even Rock Slide is quite a bit weaker but can be annoying due to flinches) only 3HKOes. Amazingly, Surf/Blizzard only 3HKOes back, and so does PB Return. You outpace Charizard and reliably 2HKO with Pink Bow Return but get 2HKOed by Flamethrower. You outpace D-Nite 3 and 2HKO with Blizzard/PB Return (Return MAY be a 3HKO roll though). B-tier, as you can nearly solo but will probably need to heal quite a bit between status and HP losses and maybe switch to do so effectively. You can take anyone one-on-one and even multiple members, but unlikely to truly solo. No, you do not need Blizzard in this fight.

Caterpie Final Verdict so far:

Rating Tally:

S (5): Bugsy
A (4): Falkner, Morty, Chuck, Clair
B (3): Rival 2, Rival 3, Rival 4, Rival 5, Bruno
C (2): Whitney, Rival 5, Pryce, Jasmine, Karen, Koga
D (1): Will, Lance
E (0.5): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 17

Rating score for Graveler (No Trade): ((5 + 16 + 15 + 12 + 2) / 17) = 2.94 (B-)

Conclusion: Rise to B Tier, but may be fine in C. Surprisingly a beast and Sleep Powder + Nightmare consistently helped me sweep quite a few teams or beat individual opponents on three or more successive tries from the midgame onward, even ones with elemental advantages. Starts very strong and is even solid in the mid to early lategame, but really really falls off around the E4, though still surprisingly useful and capable of beating tanky mons or ones with SE moves like Lance D-Nites (though likely not all 3). Confusion and Psybeam do serviceable damage for most of the game but, of course, are kind of terrible in the endgame. Can be very time-consuming to use so I could see that dropping Butterfree to C.

Grading Point Legend

S
= 5 grade points
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points
C = 2 grade points
D = 1 grade point
E = 0.5 grade points
F = 0 grade points

Tauros Final Verdict so far:

Rating Tally:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Chuck, Pryce, Rival 4, Rival 5
B (3): Clair, Koga, Will, Bruno, Karen, Lance
C (2): N/A
D (1): Jasmine
E (0.5): N/A
F (0): Falkner, Bugsy, Rival 2, Whitney, Rival 3, Morty

Number of Fights Participated: 11

Rating score for Tauros: ((16 + 18 + 1) / 11) = (35/11) = 3.18 (B)

Conclusion: B Tier. Kinda annoying to get a Friend Ball Tauros in spite of the extra power and then have to train him up to speed from a relatively low level of L15 - killing mooks still takes time, as good Tauros is at it - and hence sacrifice training your others, but very strong physically, fast, and bulky. That said, I preferred Furret as Furret had a much more usable Special Attack, better movepool (Curlout and Dig, for starters), and more truly dominant performances - albeit those can be owed to Furret coming earlier in the game too, which further makes me believe Tauros belongs below A. Tauros really has a coverage issue and seems specially frail, and ultimately, as strong as PB Friend Ball Return is, it really lacks consistent OHKOing power (and against some tanks, 2HKOing power) against certain enemies. Being able to hit foes super-effectively and hard ultimately trumps just hitting hard. Tauros is a solid Pokemon, don't get me wrong, but is he worth the investment? I kinda doubt it, and I would most certainly not favor a move to A at this time. If you forgo the Friend Ball route, Strength is what you will have for a while and it performs worse enough to keep Tauros in B.

Next time, I plan to test Mantine and Dunsparce.
Back after a short interim break.

I've got a couple of greivances here.

Firstly, your test on Free has proven that it cannot function as a C Tier and is better suited to D Tier (It's a majority anyway). The reliance on a 75 accurate move and placing Nightmare on top of it is already an issue. However, if we were to compare to SleepSeed in a sense (a similar method for some mons to function), SleepMare is even worse than that. Nightmare wears off the moment an enemy wakes up, which can happen the moment you place it. Then you need to reapply both Sleep and Nightmare. I cannot give a Mon who relies on this in almost every fight a placement higher than D.

As for Tauros, you have a Clair sweep but rate it low due to the need of a Friend Ball which is what you should be using anyway as PB Strength is inferior at every turn. Pryce is also set at A because your HP got low? The League performance isn't shabby either and taking out every single mon barring 1 (and even denting the crap out of it) can result in an A performance for that MU.

Outside of that, that's my take on it.

Placement Update:

Caterpie: D Tier.

Tauros: B Tier
 
Back after a short interim break.

I've got a couple of greivances here.

Firstly, your test on Free has proven that it cannot function as a C Tier and is better suited to D Tier (It's a majority anyway). The reliance on a 75 accurate move and placing Nightmare on top of it is already an issue. However, if we were to compare to SleepSeed in a sense (a similar method for some mons to function), SleepMare is even worse than that. Nightmare wears off the moment an enemy wakes up, which can happen the moment you place it. Then you need to reapply both Sleep and Nightmare. I cannot give a Mon who relies on this in almost every fight a placement higher than D.

As for Tauros, you have a Clair sweep but rate it low due to the need of a Friend Ball which is what you should be using anyway as PB Strength is inferior at every turn. Pryce is also set at A because your HP got low? The League performance isn't shabby either and taking out every single mon barring 1 (and even denting the crap out of it) can result in an A performance for that MU.

Outside of that, that's my take on it.

Placement Update:

Caterpie: D Tier.

Tauros: B Tier
If it's a majority, that's the way it goes. That being said, Nightmare drains 25% of the target HP and is 100% accurate, whereas Leech Seed drains 6.25% and is 90% accurate (albeit also healing you in return); I would argue they are equally good or Nightmare is a bit better, even accounting for Nightmare needing to be reapplied. Butterfree's Sleep Powder + Nightmare combo also worked for me fairly consistently, so I personally cannot go lower than C at all. The method itself is pretty reliable and, well, there's at least one reason I'm not advocating for A-tier Butterfree. Butterfree also doesn't need Nightmare to beat Falkner and Bugsy and their ability to potentially cheese problematic opponents like Clair and Rivals deserve more respect IMHO.

Catching Tauros with a Friend Ball in itself is annoying; I needed like 4-5 tries before I finally got it to work, and getting more than one Friend Ball requires more time manipulation than I believe is warranted for this test (may as well do Buena's Password for multiple free Rare Candies by that logic, and that is far easier than catching even a low HP Tauros even with a sleep abuser). I cannot in good conscience support Tauros being in A, as said before, and Tauros lacks the performance of a consistent team killer at the E4 (Koga, Bruno, and Karen are all roadblocks; Will and Lance are problematic too).

Disagree hard with the Caterpie ranking, but that's how the cookie crumbles. Satisfied and agree with the Tauros placement though.
 
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Tested Magby (Odd Egg), Ho-Oh and Entei (obviously Ho-Oh and Magby can't be in the same game, but whatever)
Ho-Oh and Entei had 9 Atk, 8 everything else as DVs. Magby had 0 DVs everywhere. I used Cyndaquil as a starter to keep levels in check, but won't discuss it since its rating is already set.

I also tried a novel idea that I had a while ago, which is to use Frustration instead of Return. It is way easier and faster to build, although harder to maintain, since it only requires the player to feed herbal medicine to your Pokémon, and they're handily buyable early on with a TM that's easily available. Entei seemed like the perfect candidate to try this on since it won't have time to build Return, and this can be probably used for mons that join after the earlygame but before Surf.

Magby (14): Charcoal equipped. Fire Punch 4HKOs Clefairy.

Magby (17): Charcoal equipped. Fire Punch 3HKOs Haunter, which can Curse and 5HKO with Lick. Thunder Punch 3-4HKOs Croconaw, which almost OHKOs back with Water Gun. Thunder Punch also 2HKOs Zubat and Fire Punch OHKOs Magnemite.

Magby (21): Charcoal equipped. Fire Punch 2HKOs Gastly and Haunter. Haunter outspeeds and 3HKOs Magby with Night Shade. Gengar finishes off.

Magby (28): Charcoal equipped. Fire Punch 3HKOs Primeape and Thunder Punch 4HKOs Poliwrath. Poliwrath OHKOs with Surf or Dynamic Punch.

Magby (29): Magnet equipped. Thunder Punch 2HKOs Seel and 3-4HKOs Dewgong, which 3HKOs back with Headbutt. Pilowsine finishes Magby off.

Magby (29): Charcoal equipped. Fire Punch OHKOs Magnemite and 2HKOs Steelix. However, Steelix OHKOs back with Rock Throw. Magmar at Lv30 can survive Rock Throw - however you may want to keep unevolved to learn Sunny Day two levels earlier.

Magmar (31): Bitter Berry equipped. Thunder Punch 2HKOs Golbat and 3HKOs Feraligatr. Sunny Day turns Water Gun into a 6HKO. Sun-boosted Fire Punch OHKOs Haunter. Fire Punch OHKOs Magnemite and Sneasel. This is its first win.

Magmar (35): Return 3HKOs Dragonair, which 2HKOs back with Surf. Kingdra then comes in, outspeeds and finishes Magmar off.

Ho-Oh (41): Pink Bow equipped. Use Safeguard to prevent Thunder Wave. Dragonair's Thunderbolt 5HKOs. Then 2HKO every Dragonair. Recover to heal off the damage. Return 3HKOs Kingdra, which 3HKOs Ho-Oh back with Surf. It must be noted that Frustration could arguably 2HKO Kingdra, as well as Fly. It wins.

Magmar (37): Bitter Berry equipped. Fire Punch OHKOs Sneasel. Use Sunny Day to turn Feraligatr's Water Gun into a 6HKO. Thunder Punch 2HKOs Feraligatr. With the Fire Blast TM, a sun-boosted attack OHKOs Golbat. Sun-boosted Fire Punch OHKOs Haunter. Fire Punch 2HKOs Kadabra and OHKOs Magneton. This is its second win, with one TM investment.

Ho-Oh (42): Pink Bow equipped. Sacred Fire OHKOs Sneasel. Return 3HKOs Feraligatr, which 8HKOs back with Water Gun. Use Safeguard on Golbat to stop Confuse Ray. Return 2HKOs Golbat, which 8HKOs back with Wing Attack. Sacred Fire OHKOs Magneton and Haunter. Return OHKOs Kadabra. It wins.

Entei (41): Bitter Berry equipped. Ember 2HKOs Sneasel. Strength 3HKOs Feraligatr, which 4HKOs back with Water Gun. Strength 2HKOs Golbat, which 7HKOs back with Wing Attack. Ember 3HKOs Haunter, which can Curse back. Strength OHKOs Kadabra. Ember 2HKOs Magneton, which leads Magneton to finish Entei off. With the Sunny Day TM, Ember 2HKOs Haunter and OHKOs Magneton. With the Fire Blast TM, Entei OHKOs Haunter. It wins with one rare TM investment.

Magmar (38): Thunder Punch 2HKOs Xatu, which 3HKOs back. With the Fire Blast TM, a sun-boosted attack OHKOs Xatu. However, Thunder Punch fails to 2HKO Slowbro, which 2HKOs back. Can't win.

Ho-Oh (42-43): Pink Bow equipped. Use Safeguard first turn to stop Confuse Ray. Return 2HKOs Xatu, which 6HKOs back with Psychic. Return 3HKOs Slowbro, which 5HKOs back with Psychic. Use Safeguard against the next Xatu. Sacred Fire OHKOs Exeggutor and Jynx afterwards. It wins.

Entei (41): Bitter Berry equipped.Frustration 2HKOs both Xatus, which 3HKO back with Psychic. Frustration 3-4HKOs Slowbro, which 3HKOs back with Psychic, and Exeggutor, which finishes off Entei. With the Sunny Day and Solar Beam TMs, Entei 2HKOs Slowbro even after Amnesia. With the Fire Blast TM, a sun-boosted attack OHKOs both Xatus, and Entei doesn't need the sun to OHKO Exeggutor and Jynx. Needs three rare TM investments.

Magmar (38-39): Fire Punch OHKOs Ariados and Forretress. Fire Punch 4HKOs Muk (3HKO under the sun), which 2HKOs back with Sludge Bomb. With the Fire Blast TM, Magmar 2HKOs Muk under the sun, and only needs Fire Punch to finish Muk off. Thunder Punch 3HKOs Crobat, and a sun-boosted Fire Punch 2HKOs. Thunder Punch and Fire Blast KO Crobat. Fire Punch OHKOs Venomoth. Its third win, with one TM investment.

Ho-Oh (43-44): Sacred Fire OHKOs Ariados. Use Safeguard on Muk to avoid poison. Return 3HKOs Muk, which 4HKOs back. Return 3HKOs Crobat (2HKO with Frustration?) or 2HKOs with Sacred Fire. Sacred Fire OHKOs Forretress and Venomoth. It wins.

Entei (42): Ember 2HKOs Ariados and OHKOs Forretress. Frustration 3HKOs Muk, which 3HKOs back. Frustration 3HKOs Crobat (2HKO after Leer), which 4HKOs with Wing Attack. Frustration 2HKOs Venomoth, which finishes it back. With the Fire Blast TM and the Sunny Day TM, a sun boosted attack 2HKOs Muk, and can OHKO Ariados and Venomoth outside the sun. Needs two TM to win.

Magmar (39): Charcoal equipped. Return 3HKO Hitmontop, which 2HKOs back with Dig, and Fire Blast and Return can KO. Sun-boosted Fire Blast barely misses out on the OHKO against Onix, which finishes Magmar off with Earthquake. Can't win.

Ho-Oh (43-44): Pink Bow equipped. Return 2HKOs Hitmontop. Sacred Fire 2HKOs Onix, which will inexplicably use Sandstorm. Use Safeguard against Hitmonchan to block paralysis from Thunder Punch. Return 2HKOs Hitmonchan, but the player should try to have as much health as possible, so wait until sand wears. Sacred Fire 2-3HKOs Machamp, but it must land the 50/50 chance to burn in order to survive Rock Slide. After the burn damage, Return finishes Machamp off. Use Safeguard against Hitmonlee to block Swagger. Return 2HKOs Hitmonlee, which 6HKOs back with Hi-Jump Kick. Use Recover to heal off damage. It can win half of the time.

Entei (42): Charcoal equipped. Frustration 2HKOs Hitmontop, which 4HKOs back with Dig. Frustration 4-5HKOs Onix, which 3HKOs back with Earthquake. With the Fire Blast TM and the Sunny Day TM, Entei OHKOs Onix. Frustration 3HKOs Machamp, which finishes Entei off. Not even sun-boosted Fire Blast can OHKO, although it alongside Frustration will KO Machamp. Entei then 2HKOs Hitmonlee, which finishes off Entei with Hi-Jump Kick. Can't win.

Magmar (39-40): Sun-boosted Fire Punch 3HKOs Umbreon, which 4HKOs back with Feint Attack. Fire Punch 3HKOs Gengar. Thunder Punch 2HKOs Murkrow, which 4HKOs with Feint Attack and finishes Magmar off. With the Fire Blast TM, a sun-boosted attack 2HKOs Umbreon, and OHKOs Murkrow, but Houndoom walls Magmar. Can't win.

Ho-Oh (43): Use Safeguard to block Confuse Ray. Return 3HKOs Umbreon, which 7HKOs back with Feint Attack. Sacred Fire 2HKOs Gengar. Return barely misses on the OHKO against Murkrow (reaches it with Frustration), which 9HKOs back with Feint Attack. Return 2HKOs Houndoom, which 5HKOs back with Crunch. Sacred Fire OHKOs Vileplume. Use Recover to heal off damage, particularly Curse. Can win consistently if Umbreon doesn't use Sand Attack.

Entei (42): Pink Bow equipped. Frustration 3HKOs Umbreon (2HKO after Leer), which 6HKOs back with Feint Attack. Ember 5HKOs Gengar, which will wall and weaken with Curse. Frustration 2HKOs Murkrow. With the Fire Blast TM, Entei 2HKOs Gengar and OHKOs Murkrow. Frustration 2HKOs Houndoom, which finishes Entei off. If Gengar used Spite on Fire Blast, Frustration 2HKOs Murkrow, which 6HKOs back with Feint Attack. Can't equip Bitter Berry to avoid Umbreon's Confuse Ray, as it loses the range on Umbreon. Both Sand Attack and Confuse Ray are crippling for Entei's performance. Can't really win consistently.


Magmar (39): Thunder Punch doesn't OHKO Gyarados, which 2HKOs back with Surf. Then Aerodactyl comes and KOs with Rock Slide. Can't win.

Ho-Oh (44): Return lets it 3HKO everyone except for Aerodactyl. With Safeguard, Ho-Oh can avoid Dragonite's Thunder Wave, while Recover lets it heal off any damage, especially during the free turns Ho-Oh gets through Hyper Beam. However, all of this is naught when Aerodactyl outspeeds and OHKOs with Rock Slide. Ho-Oh can dispatch 5/6 of Lance's team, but not sweep. Note that you can OHKO Gyarados with the Thunder TM. Can't win.

Entei: Frustration 3HKOs Gyarados. Then Aerodactyl comes and KOs with Rock Slide. Can't win.

Magby (Odd Egg) should be E. Even if you assume that you hatch it instantly, it performs very poorly overall, with only very few winning matches. Due to its somewhat late evolution and low join level, Magby will stay unevolved for most of the game, unless the player decides to grind to evolve it. While it learns Flamethrower, it is at level 41, which coupled with its low joining level means that the player will have to grind for it. However, most of the time a player may want to teach it Fire Blast anyways, since its low DVs means its stats are on par with Quilava. It can only win three battles, and for two of them it needs Fire Blast - and it could be worse since it has to be sun-boosted but fortunately Magby learns Sunny Day through level up, one of its few advantages over other Fire-types. Training an underleveled mon through the entire game to win only two rival fights and one of the Elite Four members is very inefficient, and therefore I consider Magby, just based on performance alone, one of the least efficient options in the game. Utterly terrible.

Ho-Oh (Gold) should be C, though very borderline and close to D. This is mostly caused by late availability, but Ho-Oh can, without any TM investment, win almost every fight left in the game except for Lance, and even then it can take on five of Lance's Pokémon. This is caused by great Special Defense, great attacking stats, access to Safeguard to block this game's penchant to hax, to Recover to be fully independent from healing items during battle, and to a strong STAB attack without TM investment in Sacred Fire. However, even Bruno and Karen aren't the most consistent fights, as it requires to land a burn on Machamp (50%), or that Umbreon decides to not use Sand Attack (or not be very affected by it). Note that I used Return in my playthrough, but a player could use Frustration instead, and it's probably the better option anyways. I know that some people may find it disagreeable to take into account its late availability, but think about it: If we're taking Ho-Oh, it is to deal with the endgame bosses, not to choke at the very last battle!

Assuming that it is caught after getting the Master Ball, Entei is also E. Its joining movepool is absolutely terrible, since it has Ember. You have to use the Sunny Day TM on it, as well as the Fire Blast TM, and the Solar Beam TM too if you need someone that handles Will. That is three TMs and it still flops from Bruno onwards. The only advantage is its high attack, which lets it hit hard with Frustration, but that doesn't mean winning battles. Again, it is probably weird to put a legendary in the lowest tier, but where else does it belong? Just like I said in the paragraph about Ho-Oh, if you're picking a legendary this late into the game, it's to help you out in the endgame, not to suck your resources and still fail. Using Entei is setting yourself up for disappointment. Don't.
 
At the E4 now with Dunsparce and Mantine (and yes, I have logs for everyone till this point - will edit in results for E4 fights soon).

But, just to let you know....it has been a PAINFUL experience so far (from Morty onwards). The first time testing Pokemon ceased to be fun.

Edit: I'm back, and as promised, here are my logs! Finding and catching Dunsparce was actually not a problem, it took me like at most around 10-12 minutes each time (yes, I accidentally KOed the first one with a crit). Mantine was not a problem either. Definitely easier than Friend Ball Bull.

FYI, my Dunsparce was a girl, so male Dunsparce users should be better off.

Dunsparce (L10): Dunsparce outspeeds and 2-3HKOes with Rage (accounting for first Tackle from Pidgey); Pidgey does not even 5HKO with Tackle in return, fell from 43 to 40 HP only. Pidgeotto outpaces Dunsparce but does not even 4HKO with Gust, fell from 40 to 34 HP only - even accounting for damage from Pidgey. Rage 2HKOes Pidgeotto in return, accounting for accumulated damage.

S-Class. No healing items needed on any one of 3 tries. Ez ez.

PB Dunsparce (L15 -> L16 after Kakuna): Dunsparce outpaces Metapod and Kakuna. Rage is a 4HKO on Metapod (with two Hardens from Metapod at first and two Hardens in the next two turns; if Metapod only uses Tackle twice on the first two turns, Rage is a 3HKO). Kakuna is 2HKOed by Rage even if Kakuna does not attack you and uses Harden instead of powering up Rage more. Scyther outpaces but Fury Cutter doesn't even 3HKO while Rage (with earlier builtup damage from Metapod and two Fury Cutter hits from Scyther) solidly 2HKOes Scyther. Even if Scyther misses one Fury Cutter, Rage should still 3HKO Scyther. If Kakuna and Metapod both damage you, Scyther is easily and reliably 2HKOed by Rage.

A-tier, I won easily on all three tries and my HP never even entered the yellow zone IIRC but I could see some Metapod/Kakuna AI kerfuffles causing you to fail to power up Rage in time to kill Scyther before he kills you.

PB Dunsparce (L16 -> L17 after Gastly): Gastly outpaces Dunsparce but cannot Lick you due to you being a Normal-type; Hypnosis can be annoying (if it even hits) and Spite too. However, you cannot hit Gastly back without Mud-Slap, which reliably 2-3HKOes. Zubat and you speed tie but is reliably 3HKOed by Rage after two Bites (4HKOed if just one) - which does not even 5HKO; Supersonic and flinch hax can be annoying, especially together, but will not shut down Rage at all. Croconaw outpaces and Water Gun does not even 5HKO while he gets 2HKOed by Rage (accounting for literally any amount of Zubat damage above 0 and one Water Gun). BEWARE of Spite, as if Gastly puts you to sleep or can spam it enough times at the right frequency, he can shut Mud-Slap down by erasing all PP, leaving Dunsparce unable to even touch Gastly.

B-tier
as Sparce can solo potentially, but bad luck with Gastly can leave you incapable of getting through Gastly at all and you need Mud-Slap just to be able to hurt him; confusion (+ flinch) hax from Zubat can suck too. You can play around a bit by using Glare first instead of Mud-Slap so that is the move Gastly Spites, but a little too convoluted IMO.

PB Dunsparce (L19): Dunsparce outspeeds Clefairy and uses Rage to do slight damage to Clefairy, then gets hit by Doubleslap thrice, so three boosts. Uses Rage again to knock Clefairy into the red, then gets Doubleslapped four times, so four boosts. Rage wins. Miltank outspeeds and uses Rollout but misses first turn, while Rage 2HKOes (and does 2HKO damage even before getting hit by a second Rollout). Lol.

Second try had Dunsparce DoubleSlapped twice, taking only two hits either time. Rage 3HKOes effectively, like last time. Miltank outsped and nearly pushed me to yellow health with Stomp, but I got a boost and nearly pushed Miltank into yellow myself with Rage. Second Stomp pushed me into yellow and nearly pushed me into red, but I flinched, causing me to lose to a 3rd Stomp. Third try, DoubleSlap hit me five times on the first try, causing Rage to be a 2HKO now. Tanked two Rollouts from Miltank and reliably 2HKOed in return with Rage. Fourth try (just to check)? DoubleSlap hit me third times on the first try and give times on the second, making Rage a reliable 3HKO. Miltank missed first Rollout but was already reliably 2HKOed by Rage; she does hit successfully next turn but at this point Rage is more than enough to destroy her.

IMO, quite winnable actually, but kinda luck dependent. Leaning in favor of A with the extra win and especially given I could have easily gotten Dunsparce to L20 for even better odds and have routinely tested Pokémon around that level. Miltank bad luck prevents it from being safe. I also should have used Curlout myself to be safer, looking back at it and Curlout's success against Miltank on less (or equally) powerful hitters and/or frailer Pokemon...

PB Dunsparce (L21 -> L22 after Haunter): Haunter Outpaces and Curses while I use Dig and OHKO after taking Curse damage. Swapped out to undo Curse, then brought Dunsparce back in after sacking a Mon. Magnemite is outpaced and OHKOed by Dig. Rage 3HKOes Zubat after one Bite (I got hit by two), and I broke out of confusion quickly in spite of doing damage to myself in the first turn. Croconaw outpaced and Water Guns for a bit of damage while I Rage him into the yellow zone. I tank another Water Gun into the red zone and destroy him with Rage.

Second try goes similarly up till Zubat, where I don't break out of confusion and may have gotten one more Bite than last time. Thankfully, I broke out of confusion again right after Croconaw comes in to Water Gun me and 2HKOed Croconaw just like last time. Third try, I stayed confused one turn longer and hit myself twice while getting hit by two-three Bites, causing me to 2HKO Zubat this time instead (I broke out of confusion eventually). Croconaw uses his own Rage for some reason to do little damage while I 2HKO him again. The second turn he uses Water Gun instead, but it's too late and Rage wins.

Ultimately, you need Dig to beat two members reliably (Haunter and Magnemite) and bad luck can screw you…so B-Tier?

Dunsparce (L26 -> L27 after Gengar): Got a bit overleveled. Gastly outpaced and Curses while I set up Defense Curl + Rollout, taking Curse damage and a Spite in the process. Rollout KOs Gastly in one hit. Haunter outsped and Hypnotized me but held Mint Berry woke me up and Rollout OHKOed. Gengar outpaced and Mean Looked and got OHKOed by Rollout. Haunter outpaced and Mean Looked but died to Rollout.

Second try went the same way mostly but I missed first Rollout and took a Mean Look too, accumulating more Curse damage. Haunter came out and tried Hypnosis but missed and got KOed by Rollout. Gengar missed Hypnosis too and got KOed. Haunter Mean Looked but died. So mostly the same. Third try went the exact same as first try but Hypnosis doesn't even hit me once.

A-tier performance.

Chuck:

Mantine (L29): Mantine outpaces and sets up Rain Dance. Primeape Leers. Surf reliably 2HKOes while 2-hit Fury Swipes does not even 4HKO. Outpaced Poliwrath but Rain Surf did not even 3HKO. Poliwrath Hypnotized me and then Dynamicpunched twice for a 2HKO.

Round 2. Outpace and set up Rain Dance and eat a non-crit Karate Chop and do not even enter the 4HKO range. A two-hit Fury Swipes right after barely drags me near that range. Rain Surf 2HKOes. Eat a Dynamicpunch from Poliwrath and get confused while dodging a second Dynamicpunch. A third one hits and brings me to the red, and I break out of confusion to set up Rain Dance. Fourth Dynamicpunch misses. Fifth Dynamicpunch hits and kills. Round 3. Goes the same as Round 1 for Primeape. Hypnosis hits, I heal, but then get Dynamicpunched right after. Hurt myself in confusion but miss a Dynamicpunch or two and set up Rain Dance. Fire another Rain Surf but get killed by Dynamicpunch. Rain Surf is an 5HKO, just shy of a 4HKO (if I had Mystic Water, it probably would have been a 4HKO or at least more likely to be one).

Overall…a pretty MEH matchup, IMO. Technically winnable with healing support or enough Dynamicpunch misses, but you need healing to reliably get through Poliwrath at all (and IIRC, Chuck can heal too with a Hyper Potion, I may be wrong though). Probably C-tier.

Dunsparce (L30 -> L31 after Primeape): Primeape outpaces and only 3HKOes with Karate Chop while I set up Rage. Primeape uses Leer next, then (lol) Fury Swipes which hits 5 times. Rage murdered after, but Dunsparce fell into the yellow (32/114 HP, later 35/117). Poliwrath unfortunately outpaced and Dynamicpunched. Second round. Primeape outpaces and Leers and I set up Rage. Karate Chop puts me in yellow range after and I Rage back to also push Primeape into the yellow. Primeape hits again. I die. Third round: Set up Rage. Primeape Leers but…misses? Primeape Karate Chops and crits and I Rage back to put Primeape into the yellow. Second Karate Chop kills. Overall, pretty bad matchup, and even an awful one for Dunsparce. The fact you are not even guaranteed to beat Primeape makes this a D-tier.

Mantine (L29): Do NOT set up Rain Dance here - Thunderbolt OHKOes. Mantine outpaces Magnemites but Surf only 2HKOes. However, Mantine reliably outpaces Steelix. Rain Dance IMO is needed to safely beat Steelix too - set it up after, and only after, Steelix sets up Sunny Day (will do so on first turn upon seeing Mantine) - do NOT use Rain Dance before then, but do feel free to use Surf. Then use Rain Dance, tank Rock Throw (a 3HKO - as is Iron Tail), and reliably KO Steelix. Basically, Surf -> Rain Dance -> Surf. Even normal weather Surf very solidly 2HKOes to the point Rain Dance should turn Surf into a consistent OHKO if you use it once. C-tier, as Rain Dance is a reasonable TM to give Mantine IMO without too much competition and Mantine cannot get through 2/3 of the team alone and needs some tricks just to beat Steelix even. Still, not too bad given Mantine is underleveled and does beat the ace reliably?

Dunsparce (L30 -> L31 after Magnemite 2): Dunsparce outpaces Magnemites and OHKOes with Dig. Outpaces Steelix but Dig…maybe 6HKOes (not even accounting for Hyper Potion)? Iron Tail, in return, reliably 2HKOes. D-tier, you need Dig to even safely and reliably get through Magnemites and Steelix is simply a no, no matter what. Defense Curl turns Iron Tail into a 3HKO. Unfortunately, Curlout does even less damage than the first Dig with two successive hits or at best around equal.

Mantine (L31): Outspeeds Seel, even after one Icy Wind. Rain Dance boosted Surf reliably 3HKOes - verging on 2HKOing, probably does 2HKO with Mystic Water - and Icy Wind doesn't even 6HKO, while Headbutt doesn't even 5HKO even after Icy Wind drop (only a 9HKO from full health). Dewgong outpaces you after one Icy Wind but you outpace otherwise and Headbutt only 4HKOes you after prior damage from Icy Wind + Headbutts. Best to consider swapping out and back in to undo Speed drop from Seel. Rest and Rain Dance counters, however, will be VERY annoying and prevent you from KOing Dewgong. Outpace Piloswine and reliably 2HKO with Surf (OHKO with Rain), not counting Pryce's Hyper Potion. Best to prep Rain first if it isn't already active then fire off Surf. Icy Wind does pathetic damage to you and even Blizzard isn't a 3HKO. B-tier, kinda luck reliant and you need healing to get through (Dewgong can only be managed with Supersonic keeping him from Resting), but not too bad.

Dunsparce (L32 -> L33 after Dewgong): Outpace Seel but speed ties in return after one Icy Wind. Rage 4HKOes while accounting for Seel damage and Rest (otherwise 3HKOes). Icy Wind and Aurora Beam don't even 4HKO individually. Dewgong outpaces you but does pathetic damage with Headbutt/Ice attack is 3-4HKOed by Rage (accounting for Dewgong damage on first turn and him Resting on second turn), otherwise 3HKOed. If he attacks both turns, he gets 2HKOed by Rage. Piloswine is 2-3HKOed (2HKOed if Dewgong hits you twice). You speed tie even after Icy Wind speed drop. Watch out for a crit Blizzard, as it can kill you (otherwise a 2HKO), however. However, Blizzard's shaky accuracy and poor AI - using Mist, for instance (or even worse, Fury Attack, which amps Rage) - make it winnable. A-tier, as flinch hax from Dewgong and Piloswine's power are scary, but with luck you can win. Won on two of three tries. Did not use Curlout due to fear of flinch resets, but maybe it could have been better? Dewgong and Seel mainly stuck to Ice-type moves, not moves like Headbutt.

Mantine (L34 -> L35 after Sneasel): Mantine outpaces Golbat and Wing Attack from Golbat 5HKOs in return. Set up Agility and Rain Dance. Rain Surf solidly 2HKOes, but Confuse Ray is very annoying. Magnemite dies to Rain Surf or non-Rain Surf and is outpaced. You will probably need to set up Rain against Haunter again, when you outpace. Haunter will use Curse and die to Rain-boosted Surf (Rain-boosted Surf OHKOes even without Curse). Swap out to undo Curse, then re-set up Rain Dance and Agility against Sneasel - he can barely harm you, while Rain Surf reliably 2HKOes (may OHKO with Mystic Water) in return. Quick Attack doesn't even 2HKO you even with damage from Golbat, albeit barely misses.

Feraligatr gets 3HKOed by Rain Surf (but normal Surf is too weak) even without Mystic Water, Mystic Water may make Feraligatr 2HKOed. Overall, not a bad matchup overall, but you need healing for Confuse Ray(s) and to get through Feraligatr; probably might need to swap out for Curse too. You stomp Typhlosion rival but need Icy Wind to kill Meganium, which I see as being somewhat tiresome. Even without Rain Dance, you reliably 2HKO Golbat, Sneasel, and Haunter and OHKO Magnemite with Surf. It's usually possible to get to Feraligatr/Meganium without healing, but not through. But if you heal, you can take those two too. B-tier matchup.

Dunsparce (L34 -> L35 after Sneasel): Golbat outpaces but Wing Attack isn't even a 5HKO. Rage 3HKOs in return, assuming 3 Wing Attacks. Dunsparce outpaces and OHKOes Magnemite with Dig. Haunter outpaces and Curses; gets KOes by Dig after Curse, 2HKOed otherwise. Probably need to swap out for healing and resetting Curse. Rage then 3HKOes Sneasel (assuming two attacks and a Leer) and 2HKOes Feraligatr (assuming two Water Guns), both of whom Outspeed you. Do well, but you need Dig to kill two of them reliably or Rollout to just reliably touch them (Magnemite resists it ofc), and likely need healing and/or swapping. C-tier, but high-end there.

Mantine (L40): I replaced Icy Wind with Blizzard - HORRIBLE mistake, by the way. Misses all the time, compounded further by Dragonair paralysis. However, NeverMeltIce Blizzard reliably OHKOes every D-Air, Rain Dance boosted Surfs reliably 3-2HKO, however, and Icy Wind should 2HKO easily based due to being stronger. Thankfully Dragonair cannot do a lot other than paralysis and T-Bolt…the former is annoying enough and T-Bolt is just nasty (a 2HKO on Mantine). Due to the annoyance of paralysis and the lack of killing power, you are unlikely to get through D-Air 1 unparalyzed without a Przcureberry, and D-Air 2 is a big problem (but you can beat one-on-one with Icy Wind).

NeverMeltIce Blizzard reliably 3HKOes Kingdra (5HKOes if you account for Hyper Potion from Clair) and you outpace - Icy Wind would likely be a 5HKO at best. Hyper Beam 2-3HKOes in return. Winnable - as in, Mantine can more or less take any one member (and with luck, can reliably navigate 3 D-Airs singlehandedly), including the ace - but not soloable unless you hit like every Blizzard and/or freeze Kingdra (which I did on one try). Very inefficient, given I needed Blizzard to only semi-reliably kill Kingdra. C-tier, and I feel it is still pushing it. Blizzard’s low PP and accuracy, combined, will likely betray you and force you to use Ethers. Smokescreen sucks too.

Dunsparce (L40): Dragonair outpaces and Surfs to 5HKO as I set up PB Rage. 3 Surfs and a Thunder Wave later and Rage 3-4HKOes. Dragonair 2 Thunderbolted me twice and I 2HKOed back, narrowly, and would have stopped at D-Air 3 due to being paralyzed and low on HP. Dunsparce can beat 2 Dragonairs but not more without item support. Kingdra outpaces you and 3HKOes with Surf while you cannot even put Kingdra in the red with 2 Rages. Pretty bad, overall, and healing basically resets Rage. D-tier, IMO. I usually stopped at 2 D-Airs. Did not use Curlout as it is even more vulnerable to being interrupted by paralysis and its own flawed accuracy.

Mantine (L40): Sneasel outpaces but does miniscule damage with Fury Cutter; Set up Rain Dance against Sneasel and OHKO with Surf. Magneton gets outpaced and OHKOed by Rain Surf. Golbat gets outpaced and OHKOed by Blizzard or 2HKOed by Rain Surf, Icy Wind, or normal Surf; Confuse Ray can be annoying and Wing Attack 5HKOes you, definitely heal after that gets used, and set up Rain Dance if it peters out. Haunter gets outpaced and OHKOed by Rain Surf or 2HKOed by normal Surf; ditto for Kadabra; set up Rain Dance if it peters out - it should peter out by Golbat/Haunter/Kadabra, depending on your luck, and swap out and in if you get Cursed. Best to set up against Haunter or Kadabra as Future Sight is a joke and the move Kadabra loves to use and you can set up Rain Dance and leave the field without Curse damage before returning. Feraligatr gets outpaced and 3HKOed by Rain Surf; Slash does not even 3HKO in return (or 4HKO, perhaps), barring a crit. First solid fight for Mantine, you can beat everyone one-on-one and multiple members with just a bit of healing or a held Bitter Berry and/or swapping. A-tier.

Dunsparce (L41 -> L42 after Haunter): Sneasel outpaces but does peanuts with Fury Cutter; set up Defense Curl + Rollout. Rollout OHKOes Sneasel on turn 1. Golbat outpaces but dies in one hit, but can stop you with Confuse Ray from building Rollout even after being knocked out, as you will remain confused. Magneton can paralyze with Thunder Wave and add to the misery, so make sure to Full Heal. You outpace Magneton and OHKO with Dig and fear nothing in return, save a weak Thundershock that does not even 4HKO. Haunter outpaces you and can be a jerk with Confuse Ray but can be 2HKOed by Dig, albeit pretty shaky as the chargetime may open you up to hitting yourself and failing to attack and, ofc, a 2HKO only. Definitely swap out after Haunter if Confused and/or Cursed. Curlout 2HKOes Kadabra (Future Sight does not 2HKO or even 3HKO seemingly). Water Gun does not 2HKO you even after Future Sight, confusion damage, and Thundershock from Magneton, but Curlout 2HKOes if retaining Feraligatr buildup. Overall, a decent matchup and healing/switching needed for sure, but very difficult to solo due to Golbat’s confusion tendencies; would probably be a high B if Dig was not a high demand TM, so I can do no better than C-Tier.

Will:

Dunsparce (L42 -> L43 after Exeggutor): Xatus outpace and 3HKOes with Psychic; Confuse Ray is also very annoying. Building up Rage is NOT safe here, it will not get strong enough in time. Even building up Rollout is very dangerous, not least because it can miss or be reset by confusion. Jynx is a no, 3-2HKOes with Psychic and can put you to sleep with Lovely Kiss, though Rollout x2 or Curlout KOes back. Dunsparce outpaces Slowbro (duh) and can set up Curlout easily here, however, especially as Slowbro likes to prep Curse and/or Amnesia, but Psychic 3HKOes in return and you can still lose. Rollout KOes Exeggutor on hit 4. Awful matchup, any one opponent is enough to nearly kill you except Slowbro, and if you miss Rollouts there, even he is a problem. D-tier considering the near inability to defeat ANYONE reliably or safely not called Slowbro and/or one Xatu (and Rollout misses and/or Psychic crits suck a LOT there too). You are outsped by everyone but Slowbro and Exeggutor.

Mantine (L41): Mantine outpaces and easily OHKOes Xatus with Blizzard or 2HKOes with Icy Wind; in addition, Rain Surf 2HKOes reliably, as does normal Surf. However, DO set up Agility x1 and Rain Dance here (Jynx will be a problem otherwise). Psychic 4HKOes you in return. Confusion, as usual, can be annoying; make sure Rain is up before moving on to Jynx. Rain Surf 2HKOes Jynx and Psychic 3HKOes in return, again. However, Rain Surf only 4HKOes Slowbro even before Amnesia; not a winning matchup at all. Exeggutor is outpaced even normally and 3-2HKOes you with Psychic or gets OHKOed by Blizzard or 2HKOed by Icy Wind. You outpace everyone even without Agility but Jynx and maybe Xatu 2 Also not a great matchup at all, probably C-tie - you definitely need Full Restores to solo, even sans Slowbro. Would be B if you could actually get past Slowbro, but you cannot…

Dunsparce (L43 -> L44 after Muk): Dunsparce outpaces and sets up Defense Curl. Curlout 2HKOes reliably, provided you do not miss; Giga Drain does negligible damage to you. Venomoth outpaces and can be annoying with Supersonic but more often, you roll Venomoth over in one hit; unfortunately, Forretress puts an end to Curlout with Protect. Set up Defense Curls to +6 while Forretress does increasingly paltry damage with Swift, then set up Rage until you kill Forretress, which will take like 6-7 hits but works (you should be able to live an Explosion with your bulk, it only does 4-3HKO level damage according to my calculations; and ofc, Explosion kills Forretress too). Outpace Muk and 2HKO with alreadyt set-up Rage. Crobat outpaces you and can be annoying with Double Team but is reliably 2HKOed and though annoying to kill, does pitiful damage with Wing Attack. Actually soloable; it may seem gimmicky and risky it may be to set up Defense Curls and Rages in front of Explosion Forretress, but given his penchant for spamming Swifts and Spikes/Protect, it is not too bad unless a crit Explosion hits or something. Forretress never used it though. Do be at full health or close before preparing Rage - that means heal. It may take 8 Rages or so, accounting for damage buildup from Swift. A weird and complicated strategy, but a legitimate one IMO. May need a Full Restore to get through Forretress reliably, Muk and Crobat can cause potential issues evasion too. B-tier.

Mantine (L41-L42 after Ariados): Mantine outpaces Ariados. Set up Rain Dance and Agility - Ariados gets 2-OHKOed by Rain Surf (especially if you have Mystic Water) and likes to spam Double Team or use Spider Web - annoying, but not a threat (until or unless he passes, but safer to set up Rain and Agility now rather than before Crobat comes in, and Surf remains reasonably accurate even after two Double Teams). Giga Drain does negligible damage. Outpace Forretress and 2HKO reliably with Rain Surf + non-Rain Surf; Forretress usually uses Spikes, not a problem. Set up Rain Dance once Muk comes in. Rain Surf only 3HKOes Muk sadly and Toxic and/or Minimize can be annoying while Sludge Bomb, which is relatively rare. Mantine outpaces Crobat and reliably 2HKOes with Rain Surf or Blizzard. Venomoth gets 2HKOed by Rain Surf. Double Team can be annoying, again. Not many serious threats but evasion + Toxic can be annoying. B-tier, need a Full Restore (or maybe two) to reliably clear - Muk and Crobat are most annoying and Muk alone can be a problem if he stays offensive and/or haxxes you enough with Minimize - but otherwise yours to lose.

Dunsparce (L44 -> L45 after Hitmonchan): Dunsparce is outpaced but and sets up Defense Curl to +6 for free against Hitmontop, who only uses Dig and occasionally Pursuit (and even Detect, more rarely), none of which are a threat. From there, you eventually kill Hitmontop with Rage spam - may take 6 or so, assuming Top attacks you at least 4-5 times. Can be time-cnsuming and annoying due to Top potentially Digging or Detecting but doable. Hitmonlee outpaces but Dunsparce can tank a High Jump Kick (not even 4HKO level damage) and kill back in one Rage. Hitmonchan outpaces you with Mach Punch but even 2 cannot kill you and is 2HKOed back with Rage. You outpace Machamp and reliably 2HKO with boosted Rage from before but may get killed by Cross Chop (a definite kill if it crits, may kill you anyway with all the damage you took, but can also be survived once if prior damage is low). You may stop at Machamp (not unlikely), or 2HKO Onix with Rage while laughing off Earthquakes and not needing healing. B-tier, surprisingly solid matchup, but unlikely to solo.

Mantine (L41 -> L42 after Onix): Set up Rain Dance against Hitmontop, who cannot even 5HKO with Quick Attack. Rain Surf reliably 2HKOes. Outpace Hitmonchan and can take a ThunderPunch even after 3 non-crit Quick Attacks from Top; Rain Surf reliably 2HKOes (as does a Rain Surf backed up by a normal Surf) and ThunderPunch 3HKOes in return. Outpace Onix and kill with non-Rain Surf; make sure to heal HERE and re-set up Rain Dance here, as Machamp will not give you that opportunity and Onix is pretty weak and Rock Slide barely 2HKOes. Outpace Machamp and 2-3HKO with Rain Surf but get 2HKOed by Rock Slide after Onix damage. You are very likely not beating Machamp one-on-one or after the fact unless you get lucky with Rock Slide misses and/or Surf damage rolls (including crits), especially accounting for Max Potion. Hitmonlee is less threatening than Hitmonchan but may outpace or speed tie you and also keels over to 2 Rain Surfs. Overall, Mantine actually does pretty well and can beat anyone one-on-one (Machamp aside) and nearly solo with healing…if not for Machamp. B-Tier.

Dunsparce (L44 -> L45 after Hitmonchan): Outpace Umbreon and set up Rage. It takes five hits to beat Umbreon and it can be pretty risky and inconsistent due to Sand-Attack and/or Confuse Ray shenanigans. Dunsparce outpaces and 2HKOes Vileplume with the boosted Rage but is immediately KOed by Petal Dance after taking Umbreon damage. Gengar outpaces you but gets 2HKOed by Dig after Curse; do NOT use Rollout as otherwise you fail to OHKO anyway and get Destiny Bonded. Swap out after killing Gengar and taking Curse damage, once Vileplume comes in, and heal Dunsparce. Dunsparce outpaces Vileplume and only gets 4HKOed by Petal Dance, set up Rage, Rollout is too risky and can easily be reset by Stun Spore and/or misses, but you are far more likely to be too weakened to take on Murkrow, who outpaces you. One-on-one, Dunsparce can take Murkrow (only 4-5HKOed by Faint Attack at full HP) and Curlout 2HKOes; however, Houndoom also outpaces and may OHKO after prior damage from Murkrow). Not an efficient matchup as you cannot beat Houndoom one-on-one either - unlike Mantine - and are sure never soloing - Dig only 3HKOes too. C-tier if not for Dig dependence for Gengar, D-tier otherwise.

Mantine (L41 -> L42 after Murkrow): Outpace and set up Rain Dance against Umbreon and reliably 3HKO with Rain Surf; Sand-Attack and Confuse Ray can be annoying, but you should be able to pull through even without healing or item support, especially if neither gets used (yes, that can happen and did happen once); do swap out and back in after, though, to reset accuracy and confusion. Gengar outpaces and can Curse you but dies to two Surfs or a Rain-boosted Surf after. Murkrow outpaces and can bring you to red with accumulated damage from Gengar Licks and one Curse but dies to one Rain Surf. Swap out again to undo Curse. Mantine can tank Petal Dance - not even a 3HKO - but you definitely need to heal Mantine uninterrupted after the brutality of Gengar and/or Umbreon confusion. Blizzard 2HKOes reliably (or use Blizzard + 2 Surfs) and Icy Wind 4HKOes. Set up Agility and Rain Dance on Plume and definitely heal if you ever fall into the yellow before killing Plume, and make sure Rain is still up when Doom comes in as otherwise Surf only 2HKOes and you get outpaced; Crunch seems to be a 3HKO at full HP and can 2HKO if your HP falls low beforehand or you get critted. Overall, not too bad, but unlikely to solo without item support and some swaps. You can beat anyone one-on-one though, but cannot beat multiple members consecutively even without healing and/or swapping. A low B-tier IMO.

Dunsparce (L45): Gyarados outpaces and may start with Hyper Beam (why?!) but you are only 3HKOed by it even before Defense Curl. Curlout 2HKOes reliably and is easy to set up due to Hyper Beam recharge and Gyara using Rain Dance later for some reason. Rain Surf is a reliable 3HKO, however, and that is worse. Dunsparce is 3-4HKOed by D-Nite Thunder (DEFINITELY wear a Przcureberry, Thunder Waves stink). Dunsparce cannot reliably beat anyone one-on-one else, except Aerodactyl who thankfully has relatively weak physical attacks (weaker than Gyarados Hyper Beam, including his own Hyper Beam) that get weaker after Defense Curl. Charizard’s Flamethrower should be a 2-3HKO on you too - never survived long enough to even get to that point, truthfully. On the bright side, Charizard and Aerodactyl should be 2HKOed by Curlout according to my calcs. E-tier, very shaky matchup and you can scarcely get past any one Pokemon alone in a team of 6.

Mantine (L42 -> L43 after D-Nite 1): Outpace Gyarados; Blizzard only 4HKOes (you can use 3 Blizzards and a Surf to conserve Blizzard PP ofc), so not efficient, but you can (barely) live a Hyper Beam after two Flails. Outpace D-Nites 1 and 2 and OHKO with Blizzard (duh). Set up an Agility and Rain Dance against D-Nite 2 who thankfully has no Thunder to throw at you, only easily healed Thunder Wave and not easily healed but usually survived Hyper Beam (you will need them for Aero, maybe Agility is needed for D-Nite 3 too - you outpace everyone after Agility, and Rain Dance ensures Surf OHKOes Aero who otherwise solidly 2HKOes you with Rock Slide; Zard actually is not a problem at all barring like crit Slash or Hyper Beam ofc). You will still very likely need a Full Restore or two (or more, depending on Blizzard accuracy from you and Thunder accuracy from D-Nite 1), but you CAN nearly clear if not for Gyarados alone likely killing your Blizzard PP. Blizzard OHKOes D-Nite 3. While Charizard is not much of a threat at all, he can live a non-Rain Surf (but only one) but usually does peanuts back to you without crits. Low B-tier, not too bad IMO.

Rating Tally:

S (5): Falkner
A (4): Bugsy, Whitney, Morty, Pryce
B (3): Rival 2, Rival 3, Koga, Bruno
C (2): Rival 4, Rival 5, Pryce
D (1): Chuck, Jasmine, Clair, Will, Karen
E (0.5): Lance

Number of Fights Participated: 17

Rating score for Dunsparce: ((5 + 16 + 12 + 6 + 5 + 0.5) / 17) = 2.61 (C+/B-, leaning in favor of B)

Conclusion: Rise to B Tier, but may be fine in C. Surprisingly formidable in the early to mid game and a downright monster in the early game, but falls off hard in the midgame (though still useful in some battles). By the endgame, though? If you thought their midgame performance was meh, their endgame performance is honestly pretty bad and probably the worst of any Mon I have tested in-game, ever.

Grading Point Legend

S
= 5 grade points
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points
C = 2 grade points
D = 1 grade point
E = 0.5 grade points
F = 0 grade points

Rating Tally:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Rival 5
B (3): Pryce, RIval 4, Koga, Bruno, Karen, Lance
C (2): Chuck, Jasmine, Clair, Will
D (1): N/A
E (0.5): N/A
F (0): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 11

Rating score for Mantine: ((4 + 18 + 8) / 11) = (30/11) = 2.73 (C+/B-, leaning in favor of B)

Conclusion: B Tier, but may be fine in C. Not bad, not great either. Kinda started slow and was pretty poor for the first two gyms he participated in, but eventually became a lot better - just being a Water-type with not-bad Special Attack, Rain Dance, and Ice-type coverage and overall ok stats makes you a serviceable ally. Nothing exceptional, though.

Next, I hope to test Heracross and Farfetch'd.
 
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My testing is complete.

Heracross (L19): Outpace and set up Fury Cutter. First try, missed Fury Cutter twice (once mid-attack) but eventually got through while still in green - Fury Cutter seems to be a 3HKO reliably if you hit consistently. Miltank outpaced me and used Rollout and hit twice (but failed to even drop me to the yellow), while Fury Cutter in return reliably 2HKOed - retaining power from Clefairy, ofc. Second try went the same way - Clefairy thankfully either used DoubleSlap or weak/useless moves through Metronome (think Dream Eater on a non-asleep Heracross or Absorb). Third try went the same way, in spite of me missing a Fury Cutter on the first turn. I prepped a held Gold Berry but it was not needed.

Depending on whether Miltank uses Stomp (which has a problematic Flinch rate that can shut down Fury Cutter setup) or Rollout, Fury Cutter misses, and/or (least likely, at least in my case) what Clefairy does with Metronome, you can either ace this fight or get your ass kicked by Miltank. The weird part? Three other tries, I lost to Miltank; I did not have Gold Berry then. Stomp either 2HKOed me after damage from Clefairy or ended my attempted sweep outright with a flinch and then killed me all the same.

On a sixth (or seventh) try, Clefairy actually put me to sleep with Metronome -> Sleep Powder and hit me with a Psybeam (thankfully not too bad but brought me close to the yellow), forcing me to use a Full Heal and set up Fury Cutter again. Thankfully, I killed Clef all the same AND killed Miltank right after in two hits, tanking Rollout in the meantime and getting healed by my Gold Berry (did not need it tbh). And on yet another (seventh or eighth try), I won without a hitch. Verdict? A or B-tier. Loseable? Oh yes. A fair bit of luck and RNG involved, including AI. However, a Gold Berry likely encourages me to tilt Heracross in favor of A, especially given that Hera was just a bit underleveled (L20 may have done better).

So A.

Heracross (L22 -> L23 after Bayleef): Outpace Haunter and set up Fury Cutter; Haunter Curses. Herac takes 2 Licks and two Curse hits that brought me to the lower yellow (close to red) but kills with 4 successive Fury Cutter strikes. Swapped out to remove Curse. Outpace Zubat and reliably 2HKO with Headbutt or boosted Fury Cutter (I swear, it brought Zubat to the red and did not even crit), but Confuse Ray sucks if used (wear a Bitter Berry to avoid it). Hacked through Zubat and then OHKOed Bayleef (easily outsped) and then OHKOed Magnemite (also outsped). No crits. If you miss once or get paralyzed, Curse and/or enemy attacks kill you. You win or you die.

Second try went mostly the same way (but used Lick first, then Curse, then Licks) but Haunter succeeded in paralyzing me before going down. Zubat outpaced my paralyzed butt and confused me, and from there I died to Curse damage while just bringing Zubat to yellow with Headbutt (was my strongest move at the time). Third try went the same way as the first try until (ironically) Bayleef, where I missed and Curse killed me. No paralysis fortunately. Oh well. A fourth try went the same way as the first try; ergo, I soloed.

If you do not try to solo with Fury Cutter, know the following. Zubat gets reliably outpaced and 2HKOed by PB Headbutt (and is only annoying due to Confuse Ray; Bite does almost negligible damage). Rock Smash reliably 2HKOes Magnemite; Sonicboom only 4HKOes, and he never used Thundershock for some mysterious reason. PB Headbutt 3HKOes Bayleef reliably while Razor Leaf does near negligible damage (and maybe around 10-15 HP damage if it crits).

B-tier, IMO - you have a real chance at soloing without dumb luck, and can beat anyone one-on-one reliably, likely even if the Rival has Quilava or Croconaw (they are not durable enough to tank a Fury Cutter that killed a quad-resist AFAIK), both of whom I see still dying to Fury Cutter.

Farfetched (L22): Haunter outpaces and uses Curse; I OHKO with a crit Peck in return. I swap out to undo Curse as Magnemite comes in. Outpace Magnemite and 3HKO with PB Headbutt, while get 2-3HKOed by Thundershock (!!!) in return. Yes, I beat Magnemite one-on-one. Outpace Zubat and 2HKO with Headbutt; dodged Supersonic from both. Outpace Bayleef, reliably 3HKO with PB Headbutt, and flinched twice. My stupid self sold the Mud-Slap ™; Mud-Slap does 80 damage to Magnemite (compared to 36-37 damage from quad-resisted STABBed badge boosted Pink Bow Headbutt, so likely a 2HKO at least).

Second try, Haunter survived a non-crit Peck after Curse and I took one turn of Curse damage and a Spite (not a problem as Peck has plenty of PP AND is not necessary anymore), but won easily. Swap out and back in to undo Curse. Unfortunately, I took enough damage to be 2HKOed by Thundershock and died right there; Magnemite went to yellow too, tbf. If I had Mud-Slap, I won right there.

Third try went the same way as the second. Stopped at Magnemite. Zubat does not even 3HKO with Bite even after Curse damage from Haunter. Razor Leaf from Bayleef does not even 3HKO with non-crit Razor Leaf even after Curse damage and Bite (and only seems to 5HKO normally barring crits), only doing around 9 HP points damage to you normally and around 18 on a crit. If you have Mud-Slap, IMO A-worthy due to being able to solo and beat pretty much anyone one-on-one fairly reliably (even Magnemite if I project correctly)…but Mud-Slap is kind of a competitive TM, so just B. Other starters may be rougher than Bayleef, but I doubt there is that much of a change, enough for a tier drop anyway.

Heracross (L25): First try, Fury Cutter x3 and Curse self-damage killed Gastly; I outsped and he Licked me once but it did nothing. Unfortunately, I missed Fury Cutter on Haunter and took Curse damage, broke out of a Hypnosis using Mint Berry, and had to swap out and in. Fury Cutter x3 and Curse self-damage nearly killed Haunter (I outsped him btw), but then he Night Shaded me and killed me. Oh well.

Second try. I tried to set up Fury Cutter on Gastly, only to get paralyzed by Lick and interrupted before I could even get to Fury Cutter on the third (or second hit?) and then get killed by Curse before I could even defeat Gastly. Third try, I suddenly missed a Fury Cutter on Gastly (who already Cursed and then Licked me but not paralyzed). Swapped Cross out and back in to repeat Fury Cutter and killed him in three hits, taking a Spite and a non-paralysis lick. 2HKOed Haunter reliably with boosted Fury Cutter, shrugging off a Hypnosis with Mint Berry. Gengar outsped me and used Hypnosis but missed thrice (phew) but tanked 3 Fury Cutters before finally falling. Outpaced and 2HKOed final Haunter, who only Mean Looked.

Overall, very risky and annoying matchup, but unironically have a chance at soloing apart from that swap I mentioned (just not a good chance*). An unofficial 4th try saw me kill Gastly as usual and unparalyzed (mostly), 2HKO Haunter and dodge a Hypnosis entirely, dodged a Hypnosis from Gengar before dying to a Shadow Ball before Curse damage. I give Heracross a C-tier, if a low one. Considered D, but the ability to nearly solo (albeit very unlikely) or reliably get through Gastly and Haunter mostly singlehandedly are too good for D IMO. D would be more like Dunsparce versus Will or Jasmine - needs ABSURD luck to win and can barely get past any individual Pokemon without TMs.

Farfetch'd (L25 -> L26 after Haunter 1): First try, Outpaced Gastly and set up a Swords Dance as Gastly Curses. I then OHKO with Peck. Haunter 1 outpaced me and used Night Shade (???), which obviously failed and I OHKO right back with Peck. Gengar outpaced me and missed Hypnosis first try and landed second try, but I recovered using Mint Berry and 2HKOed with SD Peck. Outpaced Haunter 2 and 2HKOed with SD Peck, takiing off two Spites. Second try went the same way until Haunter 1, who (narrowly) survived SD Peck and missed a Hypnosis. Gengar outpaced Farfetched and landed Hypnosis but I recovered…only to be put to sleep again :(. From there, Dream Eater killed me :(.

Third try went the same way until Gengar who outpaced me and put me to sleep, but I awakened with a Mint Berry…then got put to sleep again like on try two. A fourth try went the same way as the third, except Gengar failed to put me to sleep on try one and I beat him. Haunter 2 likes to use Mean Look and/or Spite for some reason, so easily handled with +2 Pecks. Verdict? Not a guaranteed sweep but it IS definitely doable, at least with a Mint Berry and/or an Awakening. Farfetched needs no swaps or insane luck like Heracross either, so…B?

Heracross (L29 -> 30 after Primeape): Heracross outpaces Primeape and sets up Fury Cutter (crit on 2nd turn). 4HKO on Primeape, ate two non-crit Karate Chops and a two-hit Fury Swipes but did not even fall into yellow (65/94 HP). Outpace Poliwrath and reliably 2HKOed with boosted Fury Cutter while ducking a Hypnosis.

Second try? Even a crit Karate Chop, which I took on my first turn, did very little damage (75/94). Primeape then used Rage for measly damage and I used Fury Cutter…and missed (Ape also missed a Fury Swipes). Set up again, only to suddenly fail midway setup. Nearly died to Primeape after I kept taking damage from Rage/Swipes/Chop but killed him with another Fury Cutter setup. Nearly killed Wrath after with a crit boosted Fury Cutter but died to Surf. Third try went the same as the first but I took more damage (56/94 HP instead) and ate a Dynamicpunch from Wrath after that that sent me into the yellow. Powered through the confusion and slew him with Fury Cutter though. FYI, even AFTER a Leer, Dynamicpunch is only a 4HKO, just like Surf.

Without Fury Cutter? Even non-PB Strength reliably 2HKOes Primeape and reliably 3HKOes Poliwrath (Pink Bow may potentially be able to 2HKO Wrath); Surf, however, 3HKOes you back (at least with a bit of prior damage from Ape), and Hypnosis can stink for obvious reasons - an Awakening clears it up though. Beat Wrath with only an Awakening first time and none the second time. Third time, got confused by Dynamicpunch and brought to the yellow by confusion damage after Leer, but pulled through and won without item support. Loseable, but slightly more often than not soloable even without items (and any item use is likely to be minimal and just an Awakening or held Mint Berry). A-tier.

Farfetch'd (L30): Primeape outpaces and 3-4HKOes with non-crit Karate Chop. I set up one SD, then fire off a PB Headbutt, instantly killing Ape. Outpace Wrath and reliably 2HKO but killed by Dynamicpunch on the first try.

Second try, Primeape used a Leer but missed (?) and I nearly died to a crit Karate Chop as I set up two SDs instead of one. Used a Super Potion to heal up and two non-crit Chops later, OHKOed Ape AND OHKOed Wrath with PB Headbutt.

Third try went the same as the second (two non-crit Karate Chops brought me to a dangerous yellow still so I healed up to not risk it, but after using one more non-crit Chop, just used Fury Swipes instead). Wrath survived Headbutt and fired a Dynamicpunch…only to miss…and die.

Fourth try, Primeape inexplicably used Leer + Rage x2 as I set up two SDs and then fired off a PB Headbutt. Wrath BARELY survived but flinched…and I delivered the killing blow. Also, Dynamicpunch is a reliable 2HKO on you (8/76 HP for those keeping score), so do not set up in front of Wrath. And without SDs, Headbutt solidly 2HKOes Primeape and 2-3HKOes Wrath.

Overall? Actually quite soloable with a bit of luck (mainly a Dynamicpunch/Hypnosis miss from Wrath and to a lesser degree, lack of crits from Ape; meanwhile, if you flinch Wrath, you win basically) and/or a bit of item support, but definitely not an S. A it is.

Farfetched (L31): Outpace Magnemite, die to Thunderbolt. Steelix is also a no, you die to Rock Throw and Iron Tail easily (2HKO at worst) and need at least 4 SDs to even begin doing real damage. Normally F-tier (a 0), absolutely awful matchup and not. Mud-Slap or Sand-Attack hax, and/or Headbutt flinches bring it up to a D or E; given Mud-Slap is competitive anyway, E is fine. Just no.

Heracross (L29 -> L30 after Magnemite 1): Outpace Magnemite and reliably 2HKO with Rock Smash (not even accounting for Rock Smash Defense drop). Thunderbolt reliably 3HKOes, but paralysis is evil. Steelix came in ASAP and missed an Iron Tail as I remained paralyzed, but healed up - albeit not fully - with a Super Potion. Steelix landed Iron Tail that would have reliably 2HKOed with the damage I still had…and I Countered for an immediate OHKO on Steelix. Ironically, Steelix is the easiest member of the team - Counter bait, in fact. Magnemites are just evil - especially if they elect to Confuse you after T-Wave hits - and strong. Pretty annoying in light of the Magnemites, but being able to literally yeet Steelix like that deserves a lot of praise IMO. Can be won with some healing and you technically can beat anyone one-on-one, including the ace (easiest of all, again), and likely at least one Magnemite with only minimal item use - a Super Potion, Parlyz Heal, most likely, or a held Przcureberry, though not quite solo and needs that bit of item support just to clear Magnemite + Steelix.

Try two - and try three - ended miserably due to Steelix 2HKOed me with Iron Tail and me being fully paralyzed. If you can deal with the paralysis IMMEDIATELY (as in, before killing Magnemite - they regularly use Thunderbolt or the less accurate Supersonic on you, and hit significantly less hard than Steelix), DO SO. Even if he uses a (non-crit) on you Thunderbolt, you can live an Iron Tail after that. Alternatively, do not use him outside Steelix at all.

B-tier IMO.

Farfetch'd (L31 -> L32 after Dewgong): Outpace and set up SD while tanking Icy Wind (58/78, a 4HKO); Aurora Beam seems around the same. and then an Agility. PB Headbutt OHKOed after one SD. However, you need at least one more SD to reliably sweep Pryce's other two Mins; might even consider 2, but you'll need to heal up with a Hyper Potion. However, I soloed Pryce on three tries with no healing needed whatsoever.

+2 SD PB Headbutt reliably OHKOes Dewgong; one SD only 2HKOes while Aurora Beam is a solid 2HKO (25/78, in spite of me healing to full health); if you took any prior damage from Seel, you likely die RIGHT here without another SD. You outspeed Dewgong with Agility, even after once Icy Wind drop. Piloswine is OHKOed by +2 SD PB Headbutt (one SD only 2HKOes again), and Blizzard OHKOes in return even from full HP. You outpace all of them after an Agility (and outpace Seel period), even if you get hit by Icy Wind once.

A-Tier, as Farfetched can solo and surprisingly consistently; just don't get unlucky with too many Icy Wind speed drops (very unlikely and never happened; Seel often defaults to Aurora Beam anyway) or a poorly timed crit from Seel (crits in general are not so bad that a Hyper Potion can't fix you in a jiffy), and you're good if you do as I said.

Heracross (L31 -> L32 after Dewgong): Heracross outspeeds and reliably 2HKOes Seel with PB Strength; Icy Wind does like…6 points of damage to a 100 HP Pokémon, lol. Even after Icy Wind, I outpace easily. Dewgong Outpaces you after the first Icy Wind (you outpace otherwise); PB Strength 2-3HKOes in return. Outpace Piloswine even after 1 Icy Wind, reliably 3HKO with PB Strength (unless you count Hyper Potion, then it's more of a 5HKO), and are only 2HKOed by non-crit Blizzard even after damage from Seel and Dewgong. A single Hyper Potion ensures a win, and I feel it's fair game as Pryce uses/has one too.

Fury Cutter sweeping works even safer and better, no Hyper Potion needed and although potential Headbutt flinches - only a problem if you get an Icy Wind speed drop (Dewgong) or two (Seel) - can be annoying, Seel thankfully only likely uses it before Resting due to taking too much damage (which gives you free time to set up Fury Cutter safely/reset it) and Dewgong never does (and also uses Rest, or Aurora Beam for offense). Seel is 3HKOed, Dewgong 2HKOed, and Piloswine OHKOed assuming Cutter never misses. Destroyed Pryce three times with ease this way. A-Tier IMO.

Heracross (L34): Heracross outpaces Golbat and 2HKOes with Strength; Confuse Ray can be annoying, as always; Wing Attack reliably 2HKOes in return. Haunter is a no, at least after you take damage from Golbat; Fury Cutter is only a 4HKO even including Curse, IIRC, and you either die or are heavily weakened by repeated Curses and/or Shadow Balls (normally a 7HKO alone). Outpaces Magnemite and reliably 2HKOes with Rock Smash; as usual, T-Wave stinks and Sonicboom is a 6HKO back. Sneasel outpaces but reliably dies to one Rock Smash, but far better to set up Fury Cutter if Meganium/Feraligatr is still alive, and completely safe (reliable 3HKO on Sneasel and can kill Meganium/Feraligatr right after); Quick Attack is like an antbite, not even a 7HKO on you. Genuinely grateful for the ease.

You outpace Meganium but unless you set up Fury Cutter on Sneasel without a hitch, Meganium can be annoying with Reflect + Body Slam paralysis (Body Slam itself is not even a 4HKO even if you have a bit of damage, let alone if you are at full HP, but the paralysis + damage can build up fast). PB Strength normally and reliably 3HKOes, but Reflect makes it more of a 4-5HKO (counting the first Strength), making it a surprisingly annoying matchup;

Overall? C-Tier. Heracross can beat almost anyone one-on-one (probably even Quilava) and nearly sweep with some item support, but you almost NEED a Parlyz Heal and healing support for Golbat and are better off leaving Haunter alone entirely. Even Meganium can be annoying if your Fury Cutter setup goes awry or is nonexistent.

Farfetch'd (L33 -> L34 after Haunter): Golbat outpaces you. Set up Agility first and then two SDs; as always, Confuse Ray stinks. Make sure to use Agility FIRST, cure confusion, and then use SD (and cure confusion if it occurs AFTER that or on the same turn) unless you want to die from heavy self-inflicted confusion damage. Wing Attack 4HKOes in return so you likely need some healing (definitely a Full Heal/held Bitter Berry and one Hyper/Super Potion) to get through. Make SURE you heal fully once Sneasel comes in as otherwise he can Quick Attack you - normally a 6-7HKO - and kill you at your likely low HP. Headbutt OHKOs. +2 SD Headbutt 2HKOes Meganium and Fly OHKOes. Luckily, +2 SD Headbutt OOHKOes Golbat and Magnemite, who 2-3HKOes with Thundershock. Fly oneshots Haunter. Need a bit of item support and a BIT of luck not to get critted by Golbat or confused at bad times, but overall quite soloable. B-Rank IMO.

Heracross (L39): Outpaces Dragonair and reliably 2HKOes with PB Return; Dragon breath paralysis can be annoying but Dragonbreath only does like 20 damage (to a Pokemon with 124 HP). In other words, not even a 6HKO, lol. That said, between paralysis and being worn down, you will likely need healing (one-two Hyper Potions and one Parlyz Heal) after successfully killing two Dragonairs. Speed tie Kingdra and reliably 3HKO with PB Return; Kingdra used Hyper Beam, which only seems to be a 2 or 3HKO from full HP, and failed to kill me even with prior damage from Dragonair 3 (I healed damage from the first two Dragonairs by that point). Overall, does ok but definitely needs a bit of healing support and may need healing support if Kingdra beats you in speed and/or Clair heals, both of which are fairly likely individually. C-Tier.

Farfetch'd (L39): Set up two SDs and Agility against Dragonair 1. Thankfully, you outpace. Surf is a 3HKO, but paralysis from Thunder Wave can suck. Very likely needed two Hyper Potions and one Parlyz Heal. From there, PB Return OHKOes each Dragonair and solidly 2HKOes Kingdra if you have only one SD, and flat out steamroll if you have two. B-Tier; likely needs a good amount of item investment to set up a sweep, but definitely sweepable once offered.

Heracross (L40 -> L41 after Haunter): Outpaces and reliably OHKOes Sneasel with even non-PB Return. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Golbat; Confuse Ray still sucks, and Wing Attack solidly 2HKOes in return (can OHKO with some Confuse Ray-inflicted damage). Outpaces and reliably OHKOes Haunter and Magneton with Earthquake. Outpaces and OHKOes Kadabra with even non-PB Return. Need a Hyper Potion by the time final starter evo arrives due to Golbat shenanigans and can possibly lose to a crit Wing Attack, and EQ needed to reliably kill Magneton and Haunter. Can reliably beat Meganium (a 3-2HKO) with Counter shenanigans - probably your fastest and safest way, given Meganium's bulk and Reflect; even PB Return only 3HKOes sans Reflect. Pretty good and you can beat anyone one-on-one, but you need one competitive TM and overall need some healing to fully clear, and Typhlosion users can suck. Probably need some paralysis healing and another healing item when Magneton arrives. C-Tier.

Farfetch'd (L40 -> L41 after Haunter): A-tier. SneaseloOutpaces but you can set up Agility and three SDs safely due to Sneasels horrible AI (Screech and Fury Cutter were his choice of move and Fury Cutter does pitiful damage even on a third hit and Screech misses a lot; even Screech-boosted Quick Attacks do not even 3HKO). 3 SD-boosted PB Return even reliably OHKOed Magneton. Haunter, Kadabra, and Meganium/Typhlosion all die to Fly.

Heracross (L41 -> L42 after Xatu 2): PB Heracross outpaces and reliably 2HKOes both Xatus with PB Return; Confuse Ray sucks. Psychic reliably 2HKOes in return. Heracross outpaces Jynx and reliably OHKOes with Return. Outpace Exeggutor and reliably 2HKO with Fury Cutter, 3HKO if Reflect (PB Return only 3HKOes reliably); he likes to use Leech Seed first so that may not be a problem. Slowbro is a no unless you setup Fury Cutter, in which case it 2HKOes if it retains the boosts from Exeggutor. C-Tier, as you don't do super well but can kill an Xatu and Jynx back-to-back, and beat Exeggutor, Xatu ½, and Jynx one-on-one. Psychic from everyone 2HKOes back. Another idea involves setting up Fury Cutter from Jynx onwards (Jynx cannot OHKO you barring a crit Psychic if you are at full HP and though potentially troublesome with Lovely Kiss, also may use Doubleslap which is laughable). Fury Cutter 2HKOes Jynx, OHKOes Exeggutor, and then OHKOes Slowbro.

Farfetch'd (L41): Xatu outspeeds and 2HKOes with Psychic; Return only 2-3HKOes unless you can set up with SD, and you cannot because Psychic from Xatu and everyone else reliably 2HKOes you. Jynx is just a no. You cannot set up SD + Agility here against those three. However, Farfetched can take a Psychic from Exeggutor (but only one) and set up a SD, and you outpace. Exeggutor also likes to use Reflect first, giving you breathing room. If he does so, set up another SD and use Fly to…O-2HKO. Slowbro is a no. Yeah, you're kinda screwed here, you probably can't beat anyone one-on-one unless you get a good roll against Exeggutor on SD Fly. E-Tier.

Heracross (L42 -> L43 after Ariados): Outpace and 2HKO Ariados with PB Return; dude just uses Double Team. Outpace and 2HKO Venomoth similarly; Psychic only 3HKOs in return. Crobat is a no. Heracross outpaces and 4HKOes Forretress with Earthquake but Explosion OHKOes if used. Earthquake reliably 2HKOes Muk (whom you outpace) and Sludge Bomb only 3HKOes back at best. C-Tier, you cannot beat Crobat or Forretress but can beat everyone else one-on-one and/or back-to-back; Return was not used against Muk, but I'd see it 2-3HKOing Muk.

Farfetch'd (L41->L42 after Venomoth): Outpace Ariados naturally; set up Agility once and three Swords Dances. Ariados will mainly just use Double Team, Giga Drain (??), and Spider Web; can be potentially annoying if he Baton Passes to Forretress and/or you miss too often, but otherwise fine. Best to set up here as Ariados is easily the least threatening member and the next one, Forretress, is a threat if you are not setup. PB Return after 3 SDs reliably 2HKOes Forretress and OHKOes everyone else. Mostly easy, only Double Team + Baton Pass shenanigans can be annoying. B-Tier, losable - particularly on account of bad Double Team + Baton Pass + Explosion shenanigans - but also quite soloable.

Farfetch'd (L42): Quick Attack from Hitmontop isn't even a 6HKO, so you can set up an Agility and three SDs and then sweep with Return (you may need a Hyper Potion due to a crit). From there, PB Return OHKOes everyone but Onix, who is still 2HKOed and likes using Sandstorm first and only 2HKOes back with Rock Throw even after two turns of Sandstorm damage. Overall, A-Tier, as Farf can sweep but may need at least one Hyper Potion.

Heracross (L42 -> L43 after Top): Hitmontop likes using Quick Attack first, which does pathetic damage; either Earthquake or PB Return reliably 2HKOes. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Hitmonchan with Return, not even being 2HKOed by Fire Punch even after Top damage. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Hitmonlee (may have a roll of OHKOing) Hitmonlee and takes pitiful damage back from Double Kick or Fighting-type moves. Cross is only 4HKOed by Machamp's Rock Slide and you outpace but will probably need a Hyper Potion or two around this point. PB Return 3HKOes reliably in return (5HKO if you account from Bruno's own Max Potion). Earthquake reliably 2HKOes Onix while he cannot 2HKO you back with Rock Slide even after Champ damage. B-tier, as you need EQ to reliably and kill Onix and a bit of healing support to get through safely.

Farfetch'd (L42): Do NOT set up more than 1 SD and one Agility in front of Umbreon; repeated Sand-Attacks make it worthless, whereas one SA is pretty manageable. From there, PB Return reliably 2HKOes. Do NOT engage Gengar, as Fly is your only way to hit him and he can use Destiny Bond to take you down with him even during the Fly turn. Vileplume is easy setup bait, however (Stun Spore aside, so have a Full Restore ready); Petal Dance doesn't 3HKO Farfetched, only 4HKO, so you should be able to set up two Swords Dances and kill back with Return. You cannot sweep Karen though, however. Houndoom outspeeds and 2HKOes with Flamethrower. Overall, not a great matchup, given how badly Gengar shuts down your setup and one-on-one with Destiny Bond, but you can beat Vileplume and Umbreon with some trouble, so…D.

Heracross (L43 -> L44 after Umbreon): Outpaces and reliably 3HKOes Umbreon with PB Return; Sand-Attacks and Confuse Ray can be annoying, so have a Full Heal for the latter, but Faint Attack is weak. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Vileplume with PB Return who does pitiful damage with Petal Dance. Gengar outspeeds and can potentially be annoying with Lick paralysis but is reliably OHKOed by Earthquake. Return reliably 2HKOes (just short of an OHKO on) Murkrow who has no Flying-type moves and does pitiful damage with Faint Attack. Houndoom is a no if you're damaged, she outspeeds and 2HKOes with Flamethrower (just short of an OHKO on you); but if you heal to full HP, you can win barring a crit if you use Reversal, which you learn at L44 only. You may need to heal as early as Umbreon if confusion/lack of accuracy RNG gets particularly bad and either threatens to kill you or brings you to red/yellow. Paralysis from Vileplume and Gengar can be annoying. Overall, you can beat anyone one-on-one and even beat multiple members sequentially, but will probably need healing to just nearly sweep and cannot beat Houndoom while sustaining sounds from the others, period. C-Tier.

Heracross (L44->L45 after Gyarados): You reliably outpace. Even Rain-boosted Surfs only 3HKO you, while even non-PB Return 3HKOes him. TLDR: you have the edge. Aerodactyl is a no. Heracross is only 3HKOed by Thunder and 2HKOed by Hyper Beam (even after Twister) from eyeballing and 3HKOes individual D-Nites with PB Return. Charizard should be a 2HKO with PB Return but 2HKOes back with Flamethrower. Aerodactyl is a no. C-Tier.

Farfetch'd (L42): Gyarados outpaces but thankfully just uses Rain Dance to start, giving you time to set up Agility. Unfortunately, you cannot set up more than one SD due to Rain Surf and Hyper Beam both nearly OHKOing you even from full HP (put me in the red immediately). PB Return only 2HKOes Gyarados after one SD. The other members are all even worse opponents (maybe Charizard aside), so Farfetched kinda fails here. E-Tier.

Rating Tally:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Chuck, Pryce, Rival 5, Bruno
B (3): Rival 3, Morty, Rival 4, Clair, Koga
C (2): N/A
D (1): Karen
E (0.5): Jasmine, Will, Lance

Number of Fights Participated: 13

Rating score for Farfetch'd: ((16 + 15 + 1 + 1.5) / 13) = 2.57 (C+/B-, leaning slightly in favor of B)

Conclusion: Rise to B Tier, but may be fine in C. Kind of a min-max Pokemon, and the max barely outdoes the min. Between being a Normal-type and Flying-type in this game and having reliable and fairly early access to Swords Dance, Farfetched is a lot better than you would expect. Doesn't make him a great choice, however, and when he flubs...he flubs hard. However, he can pull off surprisingly awesome sweeps against major opponents even in the endgame or near-endgame like Clair and Bruno, but you do have to set him up.

Grading Point Legend

S
= 5 grade points
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points
C = 2 grade points
D = 1 grade point
E = 0.5 grade points
F = 0 grade points

Rating Tally:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Whitney, Chuck, Pryce
B (3): Rival 3, Jasmine, Rival 4, Clair, Bruno
C (2): Morty, Rival 5, Will, Koga, Karen, Lance
D (1): N/A
E (0.5): N/A
F (0): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 14

Rating score for Heracross ((12 + 15 + 12) / 14) = 2.79 (C+/B-, leaning in favor of B)

Conclusion: B Tier, but may be fine in C. Lack of access to solid Bug-type and Fighting-type moves stings a fair bit, but Heracross's incredible across-the-board stats and boosted Normal-type moves make him serviceable for much of the game, and even weak STAB TMs like Fury Cutter and Rock Smash have cool niches early on.

IMO, despite what the log suggests, I would nominate Farfetch'd for D and Heracross for C. Farfetch'd kinda needs items to help prepare sweeps at multiple points in the game, he is practically never OHKOing without a fair amount of setup and/or item support, and again, tends to flub in some important matchups. Heracross definitely fits moderately-high as he technically has no truly bad bosses and is generally good at racking up 2HKOes and even at times OHKOes, but needs item support to consistently sweep certain bosses. Both are matchup-based to a fair degree, the duck a lot more so.

In regard to my earlier logs, I would re-nominate Mantine for D and Dunsparce for D. Mantine REALLY lacks killing power outside the unreliable and very costly, 5-PP Blizzard - even Rain-boosted Surfs rarely OHKOed and had a fair few resists, and was pretty much hard-walled by rival Water-types. Dunsparce is actually a mad brilliant sweeper with Rage in the early game but falls off HARD from even Morty onwards. That lack of speed, coverage, and non-Rollout power all conspire to make Dunsparce an underwhelming choice later on. The early-game dominance deserves recognition, hence E would be too low. Still stand by Geodude (Non-Trade) and Furret for B, though. Geodude overall has a lot of killing power even if it cannot necessarily sweep teams and Furret is a Normal-type with reasonable Speed, Attack, and bulk and great coverage.
 
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My testing is complete.

Heracross (L19): Outpace and set up Fury Cutter. First try, missed Fury Cutter twice (once mid-attack) but eventually got through while still in green - Fury Cutter seems to be a 3HKO reliably if you hit consistently. Miltank outpaced me and used Rollout and hit twice (but failed to even drop me to the yellow), while Fury Cutter in return reliably 2HKOed - retaining power from Clefairy, ofc. Second try went the same way - Clefairy thankfully either used DoubleSlap or weak/useless moves through Metronome (think Dream Eater on a non-asleep Heracross or Absorb). Third try went the same way, in spite of me missing a Fury Cutter on the first turn. I prepped a held Gold Berry but it was not needed.

Depending on whether Miltank uses Stomp (which has a problematic Flinch rate that can shut down Fury Cutter setup) or Rollout, Fury Cutter misses, and/or (least likely, at least in my case) what Clefairy does with Metronome, you can either ace this fight or get your ass kicked by Miltank. The weird part? Three other tries, I lost to Miltank; I did not have Gold Berry then. Stomp either 2HKOed me after damage from Clefairy or ended my attempted sweep outright with a flinch and then killed me all the same.

On a sixth (or seventh) try, Clefairy actually put me to sleep with Metronome -> Sleep Powder and hit me with a Psybeam (thankfully not too bad but brought me close to the yellow), forcing me to use a Full Heal and set up Fury Cutter again. Thankfully, I killed Clef all the same AND killed Miltank right after in two hits, tanking Rollout in the meantime and getting healed by my Gold Berry (did not need it tbh). And on yet another (seventh or eighth try), I won without a hitch. Verdict? A or B-tier. Loseable? Oh yes. A fair bit of luck and RNG involved, including AI. However, a Gold Berry likely encourages me to tilt Heracross in favor of A, especially given that Hera was just a bit underleveled (L20 may have done better).

So A.

Heracross (L22 -> L23 after Bayleef): Outpace Haunter and set up Fury Cutter; Haunter Curses. Herac takes 2 Licks and two Curse hits that brought me to the lower yellow (close to red) but kills with 4 successive Fury Cutter strikes. Swapped out to remove Curse. Outpace Zubat and reliably 2HKO with Headbutt or boosted Fury Cutter (I swear, it brought Zubat to the red and did not even crit), but Confuse Ray sucks if used (wear a Bitter Berry to avoid it). Hacked through Zubat and then OHKOed Bayleef (easily outsped) and then OHKOed Magnemite (also outsped). No crits. If you miss once or get paralyzed, Curse and/or enemy attacks kill you. You win or you die.

Second try went mostly the same way (but used Lick first, then Curse, then Licks) but Haunter succeeded in paralyzing me before going down. Zubat outpaced my paralyzed butt and confused me, and from there I died to Curse damage while just bringing Zubat to yellow with Headbutt (was my strongest move at the time). Third try went the same way as the first try until (ironically) Bayleef, where I missed and Curse killed me. No paralysis fortunately. Oh well. A fourth try went the same way as the first try; ergo, I soloed.

If you do not try to solo with Fury Cutter, know the following. Zubat gets reliably outpaced and 2HKOed by PB Headbutt (and is only annoying due to Confuse Ray; Bite does almost negligible damage). Rock Smash reliably 2HKOes Magnemite; Sonicboom only 4HKOes, and he never used Thundershock for some mysterious reason. PB Headbutt 3HKOes Bayleef reliably while Razor Leaf does near negligible damage (and maybe around 10-15 HP damage if it crits).

B-tier, IMO - you have a real chance at soloing without dumb luck, and can beat anyone one-on-one reliably, likely even if the Rival has Quilava or Croconaw (they are not durable enough to tank a Fury Cutter that killed a quad-resist AFAIK), both of whom I see still dying to Fury Cutter.

Farfetched (L22): Haunter outpaces and uses Curse; I OHKO with a crit Peck in return. I swap out to undo Curse as Magnemite comes in. Outpace Magnemite and 3HKO with PB Headbutt, while get 2-3HKOed by Thundershock (!!!) in return. Yes, I beat Magnemite one-on-one. Outpace Zubat and 2HKO with Headbutt; dodged Supersonic from both. Outpace Bayleef, reliably 3HKO with PB Headbutt, and flinched twice. My stupid self sold the Mud-Slap ™; Mud-Slap does 80 damage to Magnemite (compared to 36-37 damage from quad-resisted STABBed badge boosted Pink Bow Headbutt, so likely a 2HKO at least).

Second try, Haunter survived a non-crit Peck after Curse and I took one turn of Curse damage and a Spite (not a problem as Peck has plenty of PP AND is not necessary anymore), but won easily. Swap out and back in to undo Curse. Unfortunately, I took enough damage to be 2HKOed by Thundershock and died right there; Magnemite went to yellow too, tbf. If I had Mud-Slap, I won right there.

Third try went the same way as the second. Stopped at Magnemite. Zubat does not even 3HKO with Bite even after Curse damage from Haunter. Razor Leaf from Bayleef does not even 3HKO with non-crit Razor Leaf even after Curse damage and Bite (and only seems to 5HKO normally barring crits), only doing around 9 HP points damage to you normally and around 18 on a crit. If you have Mud-Slap, IMO A-worthy due to being able to solo and beat pretty much anyone one-on-one fairly reliably (even Magnemite if I project correctly)…but Mud-Slap is kind of a competitive TM, so just B. Other starters may be rougher than Bayleef, but I doubt there is that much of a change, enough for a tier drop anyway.

Mint Berry Heracross (L25): First try, Fury Cutter x3 and Curse self-damage killed Gastly; I outsped and he Licked me once but it did nothing. Unfortunately, I missed Fury Cutter on Haunter and took Curse damage, broke out of a Hypnosis using Mint Berry, and had to swap out and in. Fury Cutter x3 and Curse self-damage nearly killed Haunter (I outsped him btw), but then he Night Shaded me and killed me. Oh well.

Second try. I tried to set up Fury Cutter on Gastly, only to get paralyzed by Lick and interrupted before I could even get to Fury Cutter on the third (or second hit?) and then get killed by Curse before I could even defeat Gastly. Third try, I suddenly missed a Fury Cutter on Gastly (who already Cursed and then Licked me but not paralyzed). Swapped Cross out and back in to repeat Fury Cutter and killed him in three hits, taking a Spite and a non-paralysis lick. 2HKOed Haunter reliably with boosted Fury Cutter, shrugging off a Hypnosis with Mint Berry. Gengar outsped me and used Hypnosis but missed thrice (phew) but tanked 3 Fury Cutters before finally falling. Outpaced and 2HKOed final Haunter, who only Mean Looked.

Overall, very risky and annoying matchup, but unironically have a chance at soloing apart from that swap I mentioned (just not a good chance*). An unofficial 4th try saw me kill Gastly as usual and unparalyzed (mostly), 2HKO Haunter and dodge a Hypnosis entirely, dodged a Hypnosis from Gengar before dying to a Shadow Ball before Curse damage. I give Heracross a C-tier, if a low one. Considered D, but the ability to nearly solo (albeit very unlikely) or reliably get through Gastly and Haunter mostly singlehandedly are too good for D IMO. D would be more like Dunsparce versus Will or Jasmine - needs ABSURD luck to win and can barely get past any individual Pokemon without TMs.

Farfetched (L25 -> L26 after Haunter 1): First try, Outpaced Gastly and set up a Swords Dance as Gastly Curses. I then OHKO with Peck. Haunter 1 outpaced me and used Night Shade (???), which obviously failed and I OHKO right back with Peck. Gengar outpaced me and missed Hypnosis first try and landed second try, but I recovered using Mint Berry and 2HKOed with SD Peck. Outpaced Haunter 2 and 2HKOed with SD Peck, takiing off two Spites. Second try went the same way until Haunter 1, who (narrowly) survived SD Peck and missed a Hypnosis. Gengar outpaced Farfetched and landed Hypnosis but I recovered…only to be put to sleep again :(. From there, Dream Eater killed me :(.

Third try went the same way until Gengar who outpaced me and put me to sleep, but I awakened with a Mint Berry…then got put to sleep again like on try two. A fourth try went the same way as the third, except Gengar failed to put me to sleep on try one and I beat him. Haunter 2 likes to use Mean Look and/or Spite for some reason, so easily handled with +2 Pecks. Verdict? Not a guaranteed sweep but it IS definitely doable, at least with a Mint Berry and/or an Awakening. Farfetched needs no swaps or insane luck like Heracross either, so…B?

Heracross (L29 -> 30 after Primeape): Heracross outpaces Primeape and sets up Fury Cutter (crit on 2nd turn). 4HKO on Primeape, ate two non-crit Karate Chops and a two-hit Fury Swipes but did not even fall into yellow (65/94 HP). Outpace Poliwrath and reliably 2HKOed with boosted Fury Cutter while ducking a Hypnosis.

Second try? Even a crit Karate Chop, which I took on my first turn, did very little damage (75/94). Primeape then used Rage for measly damage and I used Fury Cutter…and missed (Ape also missed a Fury Swipes). Set up again, only to suddenly fail midway setup. Nearly died to Primeape after I kept taking damage from Rage/Swipes/Chop but killed him with another Fury Cutter setup. Nearly killed Wrath after with a crit boosted Fury Cutter but died to Surf. Third try went the same as the first but I took more damage (56/94 HP instead) and ate a Dynamicpunch from Wrath after that that sent me into the yellow. Powered through the confusion and slew him with Fury Cutter though. FYI, even AFTER a Leer, Dynamicpunch is only a 4HKO, just like Surf.

Without Fury Cutter? Even non-PB Strength reliably 2HKOes Primeape and reliably 3HKOes Poliwrath (Pink Bow may potentially be able to 2HKO Wrath); Surf, however, 3HKOes you back (at least with a bit of prior damage from Ape), and Hypnosis can stink for obvious reasons - an Awakening clears it up though. Beat Wrath with only an Awakening first time and none the second time. Third time, got confused by Dynamicpunch and brought to the yellow by confusion damage after Leer, but pulled through and won without item support. Loseable, but slightly more often than not soloable even without items (and any item use is likely to be minimal and just an Awakening or held Mint Berry). A-tier.

PB Farfetched (L30): Primeape outpaces and 3-4HKOes with non-crit Karate Chop. I set up one SD, then fire off a PB Headbutt, instantly killing Ape. Outpace Wrath and reliably 2HKO but killed by Dynamicpunch on the first try.

Second try, Primeape used a Leer but missed (?) and I nearly died to a crit Karate Chop as I set up two SDs instead of one. Used a Super Potion to heal up and two non-crit Chops later, OHKOed Ape AND OHKOed Wrath with PB Headbutt.

Third try went the same as the second (two non-crit Karate Chops brought me to a dangerous yellow still so I healed up to not risk it, but after using one more non-crit Chop, just used Fury Swipes instead). Wrath survived Headbutt and fired a Dynamicpunch…only to miss…and die.

Fourth try, Primeape inexplicably used Leer + Rage x2 as I set up two SDs and then fired off a PB Headbutt. Wrath BARELY survived but flinched…and I delivered the killing blow. Also, Dynamicpunch is a reliable 2HKO on you (8/76 HP for those keeping score), so do not set up in front of Wrath. And without SDs, Headbutt solidly 2HKOes Primeape and 2-3HKOes Wrath.

Overall? Actually quite soloable with a bit of luck (mainly a Dynamicpunch/Hypnosis miss from Wrath and to a lesser degree, lack of crits from Ape; meanwhile, if you flinch Wrath, you win basically) and/or a bit of item support, but definitely not an S. A it is.

Farfetched (L31): Outpace Magnemite, die to Thunderbolt. Steelix is also a no, you die to Rock Throw and Iron Tail easily (2HKO at worst) and need at least 4 SDs to even begin doing real damage. Normally F-tier (a 0), absolutely awful matchup and not. Mud-Slap or Sand-Attack hax, and/or Headbutt flinches bring it up to a D or E; given Mud-Slap is competitive anyway, E is fine. Just no.

Heracross (L29 -> L30 after Magnemite 1): Outpace Magnemite and reliably 2HKO with Rock Smash (not even accounting for Rock Smash Defense drop). Thunderbolt reliably 3HKOes, but paralysis is evil. Steelix came in ASAP and missed an Iron Tail as I remained paralyzed, but healed up - albeit not fully - with a Super Potion. Steelix landed Iron Tail that would have reliably 2HKOed with the damage I still had…and I Countered for an immediate OHKO on Steelix. Ironically, Steelix is the easiest member of the team - Counter bait, in fact. Magnemites are just evil - especially if they elect to Confuse you after T-Wave hits - and strong. Pretty annoying in light of the Magnemites, but being able to literally yeet Steelix like that deserves a lot of praise IMO. Can be won with some healing and you technically can beat anyone one-on-one, including the ace (easiest of all, again), and likely at least one Magnemite with only minimal item use - a Super Potion, Parlyz Heal, most likely, or a held Przcureberry, though not quite solo and needs that bit of item support just to clear Magnemite + Steelix.

Try two - and try three - ended miserably due to Steelix 2HKOed me with Iron Tail and me being fully paralyzed. If you can deal with the paralysis IMMEDIATELY (as in, before killing Magnemite - they regularly use Thunderbolt or the less accurate Supersonic on you, and hit significantly less hard than Steelix), DO SO. Even if he uses a (non-crit) on you Thunderbolt, you can live an Iron Tail after that. Alternatively, do not use him outside Steelix at all.

B-tier IMO.

Farfetched (L31 -> L32 after Dewgong): Outpace and set up SD while tanking Icy Wind (58/78, a 4HKO); Aurora Beam seems around the same. and then an Agility. PB Headbutt OHKOed after one SD. However, you need at least one more SD to reliably sweep Pryce's other two Mins; might even consider 2, but you'll need to heal up with a Hyper Potion. However, I soloed Pryce on three tries with no healing needed whatsoever.

+2 SD PB Headbutt reliably OHKOes Dewgong; one SD only 2HKOes while Aurora Beam is a solid 2HKO (25/78, in spite of me healing to full health); if you took any prior damage from Seel, you likely die RIGHT here without another SD. You outspeed Dewgong with Agility, even after once Icy Wind drop. Piloswine is OHKOed by +2 SD PB Headbutt (one SD only 2HKOes again), and Blizzard OHKOes in return even from full HP. You outpace all of them after an Agility (and outpace Seel period), even if you get hit by Icy Wind once.

A-Tier, as Farfetched can solo and surprisingly consistently; just don't get unlucky with too many Icy Wind speed drops (very unlikely and never happened; Seel often defaults to Aurora Beam anyway) or a poorly timed crit from Seel (crits in general are not so bad that a Hyper Potion can't fix you in a jiffy), and you're good if you do as I said.

Heracross (L31 -> L32 after Dewgong): Heracross outspeeds and reliably 2HKOes Seel with PB Strength; Icy Wind does like…6 points of damage to a 100 HP Pokémon, lol. Even after Icy Wind, I outpace easily. Dewgong Outpaces you after the first Icy Wind (you outpace otherwise); PB Strength 2-3HKOes in return. Outpace Piloswine even after 1 Icy Wind, reliably 3HKO with PB Strength (unless you count Hyper Potion, then it's more of a 5HKO), and are only 2HKOed by non-crit Blizzard even after damage from Seel and Dewgong. A single Hyper Potion ensures a win, and I feel it's fair game as Pryce uses/has one too.

Fury Cutter sweeping works even safer and better, no Hyper Potion needed and although potential Headbutt flinches - only a problem if you get an Icy Wind speed drop (Dewgong) or two (Seel) - can be annoying, Seel thankfully only likely uses it before Resting due to taking too much damage (which gives you free time to set up Fury Cutter safely/reset it) and Dewgong never does (and also uses Rest, or Aurora Beam for offense). Seel is 3HKOed, Dewgong 2HKOed, and Piloswine OHKOed assuming Cutter never misses. Destroyed Pryce three times with ease this way. A-Tier IMO.

Heracross (L34): Heracross outpaces Golbat and 2HKOes with Strength; Confuse Ray can be annoying, as always; Wing Attack reliably 2HKOes in return. Haunter is a no, at least after you take damage from Golbat; Fury Cutter is only a 4HKO even including Curse, IIRC, and you either die or are heavily weakened by repeated Curses and/or Shadow Balls (normally a 7HKO alone). Outpaces Magnemite and reliably 2HKOes with Rock Smash; as usual, T-Wave stinks and Sonicboom is a 6HKO back. Sneasel outpaces but reliably dies to one Rock Smash, but far better to set up Fury Cutter if Meganium/Feraligatr is still alive, and completely safe (reliable 3HKO on Sneasel and can kill Meganium/Feraligatr right after); Quick Attack is like an antbite, not even a 7HKO on you. Genuinely grateful for the ease.

You outpace Meganium but unless you set up Fury Cutter on Sneasel without a hitch, Meganium can be annoying with Reflect + Body Slam paralysis (Body Slam itself is not even a 4HKO even if you have a bit of damage, let alone if you are at full HP, but the paralysis + damage can build up fast). PB Strength normally and reliably 3HKOes, but Reflect makes it more of a 4-5HKO (counting the first Strength), making it a surprisingly annoying matchup;

Overall? C-Tier. Heracross can beat almost anyone one-on-one (probably even Quilava) and nearly sweep with some item support, but you almost NEED a Parlyz Heal and healing support for Golbat and are better off leaving Haunter alone entirely. Even Meganium can be annoying if your Fury Cutter setup goes awry or is nonexistent.

Farfetched (L33 -> L34 after Haunter): Golbat outpaces you. Set up Agility first and then two SDs; as always, Confuse Ray stinks. Make sure to use Agility FIRST, cure confusion, and then use SD (and cure confusion if it occurs AFTER that or on the same turn) unless you want to die from heavy self-inflicted confusion damage. Wing Attack 4HKOes in return so you likely need some healing (definitely a Full Heal/held Bitter Berry and one Hyper/Super Potion) to get through. Make SURE you heal fully once Sneasel comes in as otherwise he can Quick Attack you - normally a 6-7HKO - and kill you at your likely low HP. Headbutt OHKOs. +2 SD Headbutt 2HKOes Meganium and Fly OHKOes. Luckily, +2 SD Headbutt OOHKOes Golbat and Magnemite, who 2-3HKOes with Thundershock. Fly oneshots Haunter. Need a bit of item support and a BIT of luck not to get critted by Golbat or confused at bad times, but overall quite soloable. B-Rank IMO.

Heracross (L39): Outpaces Dragonair and reliably 2HKOes with PB Return; Dragon breath paralysis can be annoying but Dragonbreath only does like 20 damage (to a Pokemon with 124 HP). In other words, not even a 6HKO, lol. That said, between paralysis and being worn down, you will likely need healing (one-two Hyper Potions and one Parlyz Heal) after successfully killing two Dragonairs. Speed tie Kingdra and reliably 3HKO with PB Return; Kingdra used Hyper Beam, which only seems to be a 2 or 3HKO from full HP, and failed to kill me even with prior damage from Dragonair 3 (I healed damage from the first two Dragonairs by that point). Overall, does ok but definitely needs a bit of healing support and may need healing support if Kingdra beats you in speed and/or Clair heals, both of which are fairly likely individually. C-Tier.

Farfetched (L39): Set up two SDs and Agility against Dragonair 1. Thankfully, you outpace. Surf is a 3HKO, but paralysis from Thunder Wave can suck. Very likely needed two Hyper Potions and one Parlyz Heal. From there, PB Return OHKOes each Dragonair and solidly 2HKOes Kingdra if you have only one SD, and flat out steamroll if you have two. B-Tier; likely needs a good amount of item investment to set up a sweep, but definitely sweepable once offered.

Heracross (L40 -> L41 after Haunter): Outpaces and reliably OHKOes Sneasel with even non-PB Return. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Golbat; Confuse Ray still sucks, and Wing Attack solidly 2HKOes in return (can OHKO with some Confuse Ray-inflicted damage). Outpaces and reliably OHKOes Haunter and Magneton with Earthquake. Outpaces and OHKOes Kadabra with even non-PB Return. Need a Hyper Potion by the time final starter evo arrives due to Golbat shenanigans and can possibly lose to a crit Wing Attack, and EQ needed to reliably kill Magneton and Haunter. Can reliably beat Meganium (a 3-2HKO) with Counter shenanigans - probably your fastest and safest way, given Meganium's bulk and Reflect; even PB Return only 3HKOes sans Reflect. Pretty good and you can beat anyone one-on-one, but you need one competitive TM and overall need some healing to fully clear, and Typhlosion users can suck. Probably need some paralysis healing and another healing item when Magneton arrives. C-Tier.

PB Farfetched (L40 -> L41 after Haunter): A-tier. Sneasel Outpaces but you can set up Agility and three SDs safely due to Sneasels horrible AI (Screech and Fury Cutter were his choice of move and Fury Cutter does pitiful damage even on a third hit and Screech misses a lot; even Screech-boosted Quick Attacks do not even 3HKO). 3 SD-boosted PB Return even reliably OHKOed Magneton. Haunter, Kadabra, and Meganium/Typhlosion all die to Fly.

Heracross (L41 -> L42 after Xatu 2): PB Heracross outpaces and reliably 2HKOes both Xatus with PB Return; Confuse Ray sucks. Psychic reliably 2HKOes in return. Heracross outpaces Jynx and reliably OHKOes with Return. Outpace Exeggutor and reliably 2HKO with Fury Cutter, 3HKO if Reflect (PB Return only 3HKOes reliably); he likes to use Leech Seed first so that may not be a problem. Slowbro is a no unless you setup Fury Cutter, in which case it 2HKOes if it retains the boosts from Exeggutor. C-Tier, as you don't do super well but can kill an Xatu and Jynx back-to-back, and beat Exeggutor, Xatu ½, and Jynx one-on-one. Psychic from everyone 2HKOes back. Another idea involves setting up Fury Cutter from Jynx onwards (Jynx cannot OHKO you barring a crit Psychic if you are at full HP and though potentially troublesome with Lovely Kiss, also may use Doubleslap which is laughable). Fury Cutter 2HKOes Jynx, OHKOes Exeggutor, and then OHKOes Slowbro.

Farfetched (L41): Xatu Outspeeds and 2HKOes with Psychic; Return only 2-3HKOes unless you can set up with SD. Jynx is a no. You cannot set up SD + Agility here against those three. However, Farfetched can take a Psychic from Exeggutor (but only one) and set up a SD, and you outpace. Exeggutor also likes to use Reflect first, giving you breathing room. If he does so, set up another SD and use Fly to…O-2HKO. Slowbro is a no. Yeah, you're kinda screwed here, you probably can't beat anyone one-on-one unless you spam items against Exeggutor. D-Tier.

Heracross (L42 -> L43 after Ariados): Outpace and 2HKO Ariados with PB Return; dude just uses Double Team. Outpace and 2HKO Venomoth similarly; Psychic only 3HKOs in return. Crobat is a no. Heracross outpaces and 4HKOes Forretress with Earthquake but Explosion OHKOes if used. Earthquake reliably 2HKOes Muk (whom you outpace) and Sludge Bomb only 3HKOes back at best. C-Tier, you cannot beat Crobat or Forretress but can beat everyone else one-on-one and/or back-to-back; Return was not used against Muk, but I'd see it 2-3HKOing Muk.

Farfetched (L41->L42 after Venomoth): Outpace Ariados naturally; set up Agility once and three Swords Dances. Ariados will mainly just use Double Team, Giga Drain (??), and Spider Web; can be potentially annoying if he Baton Passes to Forretress and/or you miss too often, but otherwise fine. Best to set up here as Ariados is easily the least threatening member and the next one, Forretress, is a threat if you are not setup. PB Return after 3 SDs reliably 2HKOes Forretress and OHKOes everyone else. Mostly easy, only Double Team + Baton Pass shenanigans can be annoying. B-Tier, losable - particularly on account of bad Double Team + Baton Pass + Explosion shenanigans - but also quite soloable.

Farfetched (L42): Quick Attack from Hitmontop isn't even a 6HKO, so you can set up an Agility and three SDs and then sweep with Return (you may need a Hyper Potion due to a crit). From there, PB Return OHKOes everyone but Onix, who is still 2HKOed and likes using Sandstorm first and only 2HKOes back with Rock Throw even after two turns of Sandstorm damage. Overall, A-Tier, as Farf can sweep but may need at least one Hyper Potion.

Heracross (L42 -> L43 after Top): Hitmontop likes using Quick Attack first, which does pathetic damage; either Earthquake or PB Return reliably 2HKOes. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Hitmonchan with Return, not even being 2HKOed by Fire Punch even after Top damage. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Hitmonlee (may have a roll of OHKOing) Hitmonlee and takes pitiful damage back from Double Kick or Fighting-type moves. Cross is only 4HKOed by Machamp's Rock Slide and you outpace but will probably need a Hyper Potion or two around this point. PB Return 3HKOes reliably in return (5HKO if you account from Bruno's own Max Potion). Earthquake reliably 2HKOes Onix while he cannot 2HKO you back with Rock Slide even after Champ damage. B-tier, as you need EQ to reliably and kill Onix and a bit of healing support to get through safely.

Farfetched (L42): Do NOT set up more than 1 SD and one Agility in front of Umbreon; repeated Sand-Attacks make it worthless, whereas one SA is pretty manageable. From there, PB Return reliably 2HKOes. Do NOT engage Gengar, as Fly is your only way to hit him and he can use Destiny Bond to take you down with him even during the Fly turn. Vileplume is easy setup bait, however (Stun Spore aside, so have a Full Restore ready); Petal Dance doesn't 3HKO Farfetched, only 4HKO, so you should be able to set up two Swords Dances and kill back with Return. You cannot sweep Karen though, however. Houndoom outspeeds and 2HKOes with Flamethrower. Overall, not a great matchup, given how badly Gengar shuts down your setup and one-on-one with Destiny Bond, but you can beat Vileplume and Umbreon with some trouble, so…D.

Heracross (L43 -> L44 after Umbreon): Outpaces and reliably 3HKOes Umbreon with PB Return; Sand-Attacks and Confuse Ray can be annoying, so have a Full Heal for the latter, but Faint Attack is weak. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Vileplume with PB Return who does pitiful damage with Petal Dance. Gengar outspeeds and can potentially be annoying with Lick paralysis but is reliably OHKOed by Earthquake. Return reliably 2HKOes (just short of an OHKO on) Murkrow who has no Flying-type moves and does pitiful damage with Faint Attack. Houndoom is a no if you're damaged, she outspeeds and 2HKOes with Flamethrower (just short of an OHKO on you); but if you heal to full HP, you can win barring a crit if you use Reversal, which you learn at L44 only. You may need to heal as early as Umbreon if confusion/lack of accuracy RNG gets particularly bad and either threatens to kill you or brings you to red/yellow. Paralysis from Vileplume and Gengar can be annoying. Overall, you can beat anyone one-on-one and even beat multiple members sequentially, but will probably need healing to just nearly sweep and cannot beat Houndoom while sustaining sounds from the others, period. C-Tier.

Heracross (L44->L45 after Gyarados): You reliably outpace. Even Rain-boosted Surfs only 3HKO you, while even non-PB Return 3HKOes him. TLDR: you have the edge. Aerodactyl is a no. Heracross is only 3HKOed by Thunder and 2HKOed by Hyper Beam (even after Twister) from eyeballing and 3HKOes individual D-Nites with PB Return. Charizard should be a 2HKO with PB Return but 2HKOes back with Flamethrower. Aerodactyl is a no. C-Tier.

Farfetched (L42): Gyarados outpaces but thankfully just uses Rain Dance to start, giving you time to set up Agility. Unfortunately, you cannot set up more than one SD due to Rain Surf and Hyper Beam both nearly OHKOing you even from full HP (put me in the red immediately). PB Return only 2HKOes Gyarados after one SD. The other members are all even worse opponents (maybe Charizard aside), so Farfetched kinda fails here. E-Tier.
Not to be that guy or anything, but what are your final verdicts on Heracross and Farfetch'd?

(I totally get if it slipped your mind - big posts like these with tons of spoiler tags can be hard to keep track of / gather your thoughts in).
 
Not to be that guy or anything, but what are your final verdicts on Heracross and Farfetch'd?

(I totally get if it slipped your mind - big posts like these with tons of spoiler tags can be hard to keep track of / gather your thoughts in).
My bad. Just edited them in.

Duck goes to D; Bug belongs in C.

Next, I would like to try Red Gyarados and Cubone (Crystal). Kinda seeing Gyarados as a B and Cubone as a C, interested in seeing if that is correct.

Edit: Change of plans. I decided to finally try Chikorita properly (yes, I know Chikorita is already ranked, but just curious to test for myself). Also, this may sound controversial, but I plan on testing Magikarp (Good Rod) instead of Red Gyarados - I have a very specific strat in mind that revolves around catching one at L20 after Morty with a Friend Ball, then using the Exp. Share until Magikarp learns Flail and then evolve him into Gyarados. In this game, Endure is available as a TM early in the Burned Tower; with the effective 24% boost to Normal-type moves, 1 HP Flail sounds terrifying IMO. The investment is also not even bad as the Exp. Share can be easily obtained post red-Gyarados and the investment is actually easier. Red Gyara is difficult to catch safely, Magikarp is not, and I figure getting Magikarp to become Red Gyarados should be quick with the volume of trainers in the midgame. In addition, effectively sticking around longer than Red Gyara does means more Stat EXP and more Happiness points, so he can use Return better too.
 
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I am done!

Falkner:

Chikorita (L12 -> 13 after Pidgey): Tackle 4HKOes and you outspeed. Set up a Reflect before killing Pidgey. Razor Leaf 2HKOes Pidgey if it crits once out of two hits, otherwise 3-4HKOes. Tackle only does 3 damage, a 12HKO on you even without Reflect, so pretty pathetic

Chikorita outpaces Pidgeotto. Gust does 10 damage (a 4HKO, even counting prior damage) under Reflect. Razor Leaf, however, is a 5HKO on Pidgeotto barring crits (a 4HKO otherwise if you crit once). Lost in my first try even after using a Potion and a held Berry, but won on my second try without a Potion and on my third try too and on a fourth too.

C-Tier. I accidentally overleveled a bit (in the past, Pidgeotto outpaced me when I was L12 IIRC) so my performance may have been a bit inflated beyond what it deserves and hence not a B, but you can generally handle Falkner with a small amount of item support. YES, you can beat Falkner, and actually fairly reliably.

Bugsy:

Bayleef (L17): Outpace Metapod, even after one String Shot; Razor Leaf 3-4HKOes (assuming no crits; if one crit then a reliable 3HKO), Tackle does only 4 damage - a 13HKO on you. Poison Sting does 5 damage to you - a 10HKO on you, less accounting for Metapod Tackle I suppose. You outpace Kakuna even after one String Shot and Tackle is a 6HKO (a 5HKO on Kakuna otherwise) on Kakuna after one Harden; poison can suck, but you can clear those two safely/reliably with a held Berry still. Tried to set up against Scyther - who outspeeds you - but got 2HKOed by Fury Cutter, which critted on the second hit after prior damage from Kakuna and Metapod and poison. Heal Bayleef of poison and use a Super Potion before moving on to Scyther.

Second try went the same way as the first mostly, but I healed Bayleef up close to green health with Potions and cured poison twice (unfortunately, Kakuna poisoned me twice again anyway and I ran out of Antidotes). Set up Reflect against Scyther and tried to use Poisonpowder but missed, even as Scyther got two hits in. Poison and a third hit killed me.

Third try went a bit better, as Kakuna only poisoned me a turn or two before going down and Scyther missed Fury Cutter at first but got Poisonpowdered in return. Scyther then used Quick Attack to take like 4 HP points even before I set up Reflect. I then healed Bayleef with a couple of Potions as Scyther tried to set up Fury Cutter; Scyther landed 3 successive hits and nearly brought me to the red, combined with poison damage. Thankfully, Scyther missed his fourth hit as I healed up with a couple of Potions - even as Reflect petered out. Scyther then used Quick Attack as I set up Reflect and then inexplicably fired off Leer before dying.

Verdict? Bayleef can technically beat Bugsy, but you need a fair amount of luck and a lot of Potions (or a fewer but still multiple Super Potions and a held Berry). That said, you can beat ⅔ of the team (even if not the ace) relatively smoothly and can potentially kill even Scyther even after being poisoned and damaged earlier (admittedly with luck and like 4 Potions), so…D? Definitely worse than Falkner, but technically winnable. Not efficient, but a cool fight and Bayleef is not quite useless enough to justify an E.

Rival:

Bayleef (18 -> 19 after Zubat): First try? Outpace Gastly and 3HKO normally (2HKO if you crit once) with Miracle Seed Razor Leaf. Even a crit Lick does only 2 HP of damage, basically a 27HKO haha. Outpace Zubat - Leech Life does 5 damage, basically an 11HKO even sans Reflect. Tackle solidly 4HKOes even as Zubat leeches bits of HP from you. Quilava speed ties (goes first now) but uses Smokescreen for some reason and fails; I use Poisonpowder and also miss lol. Try again with Poisonpowder, going first this time, as Quilava uses Ember, doing 17 damage (a 4HKO from full HP). Quilava uses Ember again while Razor Leaf does a miniscule amount of damage. Use a Super Potion to heal up as Quilava fires another Ember but is driven into the yellow by Poison. I use Tackle as Quilava has a lower Defense than Special Defense and Tackle should rival a non-crit Razor Leaf in power (and my Tackle crits, nearly driving Quilava into a KO! I outpace and KO with Tackle. Not bad for one Super Potion!

Second try goes similarly for Gastly but Gastly uses Lick first (no paralysis) and is still critted by the second hit instead of the first like before. Tackle crits Zubat into the yellow immediately; two non-crit Tackles and a couple Leech Lifes and Zubat dies. Quilava uses Ember twice; I use (and miss) Poisonpowder twice. Yikes. I heal up with a Super Potion and miss Poisonpowder again. Finally fire it off but then die to Ember.

Third try? Razor Leaf 3HKOes (no crits) and I get Licked once and I never get paralyzed by Gastly. Hypnosis misses twice. 4HKO Zubat as normal. Successfully outpace and poison Quilava and eat an Ember that sends me into the yellow after Leech Life and Lick damage. Eat another Ember and enter the red as I fire off a Tackle (by itself does little damage, not even a 4HKO) and nearly bring Quilava to yellow. Heal up with a Super Potion (Ember does 19 damage on a roll). A couple of Tackles and poison damage and Quilava falls.

Fourth try? Gastly went down as easily on try 1. Zubat went down about as easily on try 3, save one missed Tackle. Got outsped by Quilava and took an Ember but poisoned him in return and fired off a Tackle but took another Ember. Use a Super Potion, then took a third as I healed. Outsped and landed a couple of Tackles that nearly killed Quilava (coupled with poison damage)...and then got critted by Ember. Ouch.

Not bad at all, given I did not even use any ™ like Mud-Slap and only one (maybe two) Super Potion as a perishable item, but losable and you do need healing to kinda clear (and I suppose bad luck at times like an untimely crit/burn Ember or paralysis/sleep from Gastly can muddle things, but never did for me). C-Tier, as even Quilava is technically beatable with some item support after taking prior damage and the other two are jokes. I do have a fair level advantage too…

Whitney:

Bayleef (L20 -> L21 after Clefairy): Try 1. Outsped Clefairy and set up Fury Cutter. Clefairy used Metronome -> Leer. Used Fury Cutter again. Clefairy used Mimic to learn it. Hit one more time and Clefairy also used Fury Cutter on me, even critting…only to do like…5-8 points of damage? Pathetic. Hacked Clefairy down on 4th blow. Ergo, a reliable 4HKO on Clefairy. Miltank outsped and used Rollout to do maybe 4-5 points of damage, I instantly brought her into the red with Fury Cutter x5. Miltank missed 2nd turn Rollout, I landed Fury Cutter. Easy win. No items needed.

Try 2 went the same as Try 1 for Clefairy, but she used Doubleslap on turn 1 instead of Metronome. Miltank outsped and used Stomp, driving me into the yellow (did not keep track of exact HP lost). Miltank used Milk Drink to heal up, I landed final Fury Cutter, Miltank dies. No items needed.

Try 3 went the same as Try 1. Stayed in the green. No items needed.

Frankly, idk how well Bayleef does without Fury Cutter, but the ™ does not exactly have any real competition (other than Scyther/Pinsir/Heracross who are not natural Chikorita teammates anyway?). The ease of the win is truly unreal. Honestly gonna give Chikorita an A at least, mainly because Metronome hax or an untimely Stomp flinch can still be potential issues (a Fury Cutter miss, too). Even prepped a Gold Berry in my bag (did NOT hold it) but ended up not needing it at all.

Rival 3:

Bayleef (L22 -> L23 after Quilava): Haunter outpaces and Licks for just a of bit of damage (about 5 HP points) but instead paralyzes; I use Razor Leaf, which does little damage (basically, it would need three crits to KO Haunter). Haunter then uses Mean Look to trap me and I remain fully immobilized; Haunter then Curses and I fire off a Razor Leaf that crits Haunter into the red; I take a bit of Curse damage and a Lick or two but remain green and overcome paralysis. After Zubat came in, swapped out to undo Curse and heal paralysis and heal in general. Bayleef outpaces and should 2HKO with Headbutt even sans Pink Bow, but Confuse Ray sucks but Bayleef powers through and kills Zubat. Quilava outpaces and I remain confused but fire off a Headbutt, but only for a 4HKO. Quilava outpaces again and drives me into the red using another Ember - a reliable 3HKO from full HP - , but I break out of confusion and Headbutt Quilava into the yellow. Heal again and still outsped and take two Embers (so again in the red) but also bring Quilava into the red. Heal a couple of times (also get burned) and am unable to beat Quilava by healing, as burn damage and Ember damage both quickly 2HKOed together, outpacing any healing.

Second try went the same way as the first till Zubat. This time, used a Full Heal on Bayleef to remove confusion. Headbutt still 2HKOed even after Zubat healed himself a tad using Leech Life (only does 6 HP damage, basically an 11HKO). Still died to Quilava the same way as before.

Third try went the same as the first and second mainly, apart from me not getting paralyzed. Still swap Bayleef out to remove Curse (no healing for Bayleef though). Zubat also thankfully does not confuse me again and only does Bite, doing piddly damage (forgot the exact amount but very small); Headbutt still does 2HKO, scoring a crit this time on second hit. Try to fire Poisonpowder at Quilava first instead of Headbutt (not sure why I did not try Poisonpowder first earlier too) but miss on turn one before succeeding on turn 2. Heal Bayleef with a Super Potion and let Quilava take Poison damage. Fire another Headbutt…but then die to a crit Ember.

Overall, pretty awful matchup; you can beat Zubat and Haunter one-on-one, but likely not back-to-back (not safely); Quilava is unbeatable without Potion spam (a LOT of it). Upon beating Quilava, I leveled up and could learn Synthesis, which I used to replace Headbutt (which IMO will be kind of useless, especially for Magnemite and Morty) You do outpace Magnemite but Sonicboom does enough damage to essentially negate Synthesis (essentially a 4HKO normally), however, so I needed to fully heal up. Razor Leaf seems to be about a 4HKO (3HKO if crits once).

D-tier. Very inefficient matchup, albeit you likely beat any individual members (Quilava excluded) one-on-one itemless, but can still be annoying due to RNG and status. You are not sweeping, period. Two-three rounds of Poisonpowder and two Headbutts should do Quilava in, though.

Morty:

Bayleef (L23): Outpaces Gastly and Razor Leaf 4HKOes barring a crit on one hit (then it is a 3HKO); first Lick only does 3 damage (66/69) but also paralyzes. Yikes. Gastly outpaces me but I crit on the third hit and kill him. Haunter uses Night Shade, doing 27 damage (a 3HKO from full HP, yikes). I take another Night Shade and use Synthesis, bringing me back up to 52/69). I use a Parlyz Heal, but Haunter still outpaces me even if I am not paralyzed (Razor Leaf 3HKOes if it crits even once, a 4HKO otherwise it seems). I heal up using a Hyper Potion. Haunter then uses Curse, I fire two Razor Leafs but miss one, and I take Curse damage; Haunter then dies to a third Razor Leaf that crits. Swap out to undo Curse and try to heal Bayleef…oh wait, no healing items. I pretty much gave up right there and reset for my second try, I kid you not.

Second try goes a lot better for Gastly. I crit Gastly with my second Razor Leaf and do not get paralyzed (Gastly also only uses Curse on turn 2), making it easier to kill him. Swap out to undo Curse. Haunter outpaces and Curses as I fire a crit Razor Leaf, instantly bringing Haunter into red (one more RL and he dies), but I take Curse damage too. Haunter tries to fire off a Hypnosis and misses. Swap out to undo Curse again. Gengar outspeeds and fires a Hypnosis but misses; I fire off a Razor Leaf but do pathetic damage. Gengar lands a second Hypnosis and I cure it using Mint Berry and then miss a Razor Leaf. Gengar then successfully lands a third Hypnosis. Use a Full Heal to cure sleep, then fire Razor Leaf as Gengar fails Dream Eater and uses Mean Look to trap me (?). Razor Leaf does horribly little damage (not even a 4-5HKO) and I eventually get put to sleep again - tbf Hypnosis does miss a lot. Just no, an even worse matchup than the Rival. Not at all worth running, Chikorita does WORSE here than against Bugsy (at least Bugsy’s Bugs had little offensive threat or could be Poisoned). E-tier, only the initial Gastly is a safe matchup and everything else can kill you or make you tear your hair out. Seriously. Kenya, an underleveled and unevolved Kenya I only randomly threw at opponents, did a FAR better job. When an unevolved, underleveled Pokemon outperforms you…yikes. Maybe if I had Mud-Slap, I could have done better with the Chikorita line, but I replaced it (stupidly?) with Headbutt and then Synthesis.

Caught a Magikarp with a Good Rod from the water in the route directly east of Ecruteak and a Friend Ball - took a couple of backtracks (and beating Red Gyara for an Exp. Share), then beat up all trainers in Olivine City, the sea route, and Cianwood (Chuck aside) with Exp. Share attached to Magikarp, Then used two Rare Candies to pump Magikarp to L30, learned Flail, and fully evolved. Taught him both Return and Endure and Surf. Time for Chuck!

Chuck:

Meganium (L32): Set the time of day to Day to maximize Synthesis. Outpaced Primeape and reliably 2HKOed with Body Slam. A crit Karate Chop from Ape did 26 damage to me (I have 103 HP, so basically a 4HKO if it crits each time lol). Outpace Wrath and reliably 2-3HKO (leaning in favor of 2HKO consistently) with Miracle Seed Razor Leaf (so weak lol) barring crits. Wrath fires Hypnosis but misses and dies to a non-crit Razor Leaf. Based on a free try, Dynamicpunch seems to be a 3HKO at best without Leer. In fact, even after a Leer defense drop and a crit, Meganium (albeit barely) lived one on a free trial, as I have seen.

Second try went similarly but I got Leered instead of KC by Primeape, but killed Wrath just as easily. Third try, I paralyzed Primeape with Body Slam but still got Leered. Third try, I dodged a Dynamicpunch and 2HKOed Wrath again sans any crits.

Pretty easy fight, but Razor Leaf misses and/or Dynamicpunch or Hypnosis hax can potentially ruin it (albeit quite unlikely). or force you to heal (more likely). A-tier.

Gyarados (L30): Gyarados outpaces and 2HKOes with PB Return (just SHY of a OHKO, in fact). Outpace Wrath and reliably 3HKO as Wrath uses Mind Reader first. Dodged Hypnosis and killed in one Return. Ez ez. Second try went similarly for Ape (he used Leer but it failed) and Wrath (he missed Hypnosis twice). Third try went same as second for Ape and Wrath (he missed a Dynamicpunch and then used Mind Reader). I then fired another Return for an easy kill. Dynamicpunch accuracy is laughably bad and seems to only be a 5-4HKO; S it is. Never actually tried Endure + PB Flail here but given that 1 HP Flail seems to DRASTICALLY outperform Return by over double even a full badge later, it should OHKO Ape and Wrath.

Jasmine:

Gyarados (L30): Outpaces Magnemite and reliably 2HKOes with Surf; however, T-Bolt reliably OHKOes back. PB Return reliably 3HKOes and 1 HP Endure + PB Flail reliably OHKOes. You definitely want to heal up fully when Steelix arrives, however. Rock Throw reliably 3HKOes you but Surf reliably 2HKOes him, and you outspeed; overall, everyone is beatable one-on-one, and even collectively (albeit potential paralysis from Thunderbolt can suck, as happened on try 3) with only one Hyper Potion, so A. Jasmine too uses a Hyper Potion so no need to count it against Gyara, IMO.

Meganium (L32): Meganium outpaces and reliably 4HKOes with Miracle Seed Razor Leaf (3HKO if even one hit crits) or Body Slam; Body Slam is unironically more useful here as it never misses like RL can and can paralyze Magnemite back while doing fairly similar damage. Sonicboom does only 20 damage, effectively a 6HKO. Parafusion can suck but I broke out of it on my first try and my second and paralyzed Mite back on tries 2 and 3. Definitely carry a Full Heal for this fight and use it right before killing Magnemite 1 - once he is in the red - and not one turn before.

Steelix comes out next. Iron Tail reliably 3HKOes you from Steelix and Defense drops can suck (far more common in my experience than the recorded 10% chance). Razor Leaf reliably 3HKOes if it crits once, otherwise a 4HKO…discounting Jasmine’s Hyper Potion, which would make it a 5HKO at best? Definitely cure paralysis before fighting or moving against Steelix so you can outpace. Screech, however, turns Iron Tail into a reliable 2HKO. Suffice to say, Meganium can barely scrape Steelix while Steelix can hit you harder and Screech ruins your attempts at playing heal-tank. In fact, you probably are not beating Steelix, period. I would argue it is worse than Bugsy’s Scyther and Morty’s Gengar, as it cannot be Poisoned (unlike Scyther), has a lot of accuracy (unlike Gengar), has a lot more immediate power (unlike either) and can tear your Defense stat in half or more with Screech and maybe an Iron Tail (unlike either of them; Scyther never uses Leer). Magnemite 2 goes down the same way as Mite 1. Overall, pretty annoying and frustrating matchup. You know it sucks when a x4 weak mon did better. D-Tier, even the Mites are individually really annoying/nasty and Steelix is a no.

Pryce:

Meganium (L33): First try. Outpace Seel, but missed Miracle Seed Razor Leaf, get hit by crit Icy Wind but only go down from 106/106 to 85/106. Therefore, even crit Icy Winds only 5HKO. Speed didn't fall though. Second turn fired a Miracle Seed Razor Leaf that just fell shy of an OHKO (non-crit, seems to be a 2HKO-OHKO based on roll) and ate a crit Aurora Beam but remained in the green (58/106). Outpace Dewgong; MS Razor Leaf reliably 2HKOes, Aurora Beam does 35 damage (a 3-4HKO on me). Used Synthesis twice to get to 98/106 as Gong rested and went to sleep. From there, Razor Leaf reliably 2HKOed sleeping Gong. Outpace Piloswine, RL reliably 2HKOes; Piloswine used Blizzard but missed. Used RL.

Ez win.

Second try. Razor Leaf reliably OHKOed even without a crit. Crit Razor Leaf OHKOed Dewgong. Razor Leaf 2HKOed Piloswine who only used weak Fury Attack. Ez win.

Third try. Razor Leaf critted Seel and OHKOed. Missed a Razor Leaf on Dewgong and ate a non-crit Aurora Beam. Missed a second one and took another Bean. Took a third and brought Gong to yellow with Razor Leaf, then healed Meganium. Used Synthesis twice, then fired another Razor Leaf and killed Gong. Used Synthesis against Piloswine, who fired a Blizzard which brought me to 43/106 HP from 106 HP (a reliable 2HKO). Used Synthesis again, then got taken out by a crit Blizzard :(

Overall, kinda luck based, but tried a fourth time. Seel went down same as R1. As did Dewgong, but no need for Synthesis. Crit Razor Leaf OHKOed Piloswine.

Overall, not bad at all; losing is possible, but I won and even sweeped a fair bit more often. A-Tier.

Gyarados (L32): Reliably outpaces and OHKOes Seel with PB Return. Dewgong was reliably 2HKOed and outpaced; Aurora Beam brought me to 95/111 HP, a 7HKO only. Outpace Piloswine and Surf reliably 2HKOes (3HKOes accounting for Hyper Potion) and PB Return 2-3HKOes. Fury Attack does pathetic damage in return. S-Tier IMO. Try 1, 2, and 3 all ended the same way basically with no items needed.

Rival 4:

Gyarados (L35 -> L36 after Sneasel): Outpaces Golbat and reliably 2HKOes with PB Return; Wing Attack only 6HKOes back; Confuse Ray can suck ofc. Outpaces Magnemite and reliably OHKOes with Surf. Outpaces Haunter and reliably 2HKOes with Surf, Shadow Ball only 6HKOes back if full HP and likely 5HKOes after Golbat Wing Attack. Sneasel outpaces but is OHKOed by PB Return; Faint Attack only is like a 6-7HKO from full HP at best. Outpaces Quilava and OHKOes with Surf. Incredibly easy fight, only concern is Confuse Ray from Golbat. A-Tier. To beat Chikorita and Totodile Rivals, Flail might be necessary, but Return likely 3HKOes their final evos at worst (watch out for Meganium Razor Leaf).

Meganium (L34 -> L35 after Quilava): Meganium outpaces and reliably 3HKOes with Body Slam; Confuse Ray still sucks, but Wing Attack only does like…a 4HKO from full HP. Leech Life is a joke. You outpace Quilava and reliably 3HKO with Body Slam; Flame Wheel 3HKOes from full HP, so you can win if you paralyze Quilava fully, score a crit, well, are at full HP; Smokescreen can suck, however. Sonicboom only 6HKOes as usual. Body Slam only 3HKOes Magnemite and if you have been hit by Smokescreen, Magnemite becomes BRUTAL as he can stack paralysis on you. Outpace Haunter and 4HKO with Razor Leaf (3HKO if one crits); Curse sucks as usual but Shadow Ball only 5HKOes or more back from full HP. Sneasel outpaces but Body Slam reliably 2HKOes and Faint Attack only 10-11HKOes or so; an utter joke. Ultimately, you can beat pretty much anyone one-on-one, but Haunter/Quilava/Golbat/Magnemite are all annoying and brutal by themselves. C-Tier.

Clair:

Meganium (L40): R1. Outpaces Dragonair and 2-3HKOes (2HKOes far more often) with PB Body Slam. Thunder Wave, as always, stinks, but I only got paralyzed around D-Air 3. Crit Dragonbreath only 3HKOes at best so normal Dragonbreath likely only 6HKOes; Ice Beam 3HKOes too. Dragonbreath from Kingdra seems to 4HKO; Hyper Beam seems to be a 4HKO too, surprisingly. Poisonpowder + 3 Body Slams took care of Kingdra pretty nicely; even Smokescreen and paralysis did not deter me. No healing items needed, just used Synthesis once or maybe twice. Thunder Wave tends to miss a fair bit if used by the AI, making it easier.

R2 went the same as R1 up till Kingdra, but I did not get paralyzed. Outpaced Kingdra and immediately Poisoned him, then fired Body Slams until she died (seems to be a 3-4HKO independent of poison but becomes a fair bit easier if she is not). Took a bit longer due to missing like 3-4 Body Slams due to Smokescreen and Clair using Hyper Potion, but eventually pulled through and used/needed Synthesis just once. No healing items needed.

R3. D1 finally paralyzed me but I paralyzed him too so I still beat him easily. Took out D2 without healing but got brought to the yellow. Only D2 is relatively scary due to Ice Beam, but D1 and D3 are not a problem as they have no SE moves, just annoying due to paralysis. D3 came in but I tanked a Dragonbreath even in the yellow and Synthesized. From there, I fired Body Slam and instantly paralyzed D3 and then finished her off with another, albeit being brought to the yellow again by Dragonbreath. Kingdra immediately came in and Hyper Beamed me; I healed up using Synthesis and went for Poisonpowder during the recharge turn. I tanked a Dragonbreath, then used Synthesis again as Kingdra used…Surf?! Lol. It did practically nothing. Kingdra used Smokescreen and I remained fully paralyzed. Clair used a Hyper Potion and I missed Body Slam; Kingdra used Dragonbreath as I missed Body Slam AGAIN. Synthesized myself again but missed another Body Slam. Kingdra used Hyper Beam as I FINALLY delivered a Body Slam, that, coupled with Poison damage brought her to the red. I prepared to Synthesize again and hope full paralysis does not take place, but Poison finished Kingdra off anyway…

A-Tier. No, seriously. You can mon-o-mono anyone in her team, even SOLO surprisingly reliably with zero healing support (but ofc I would recommend it)? Yet another major Gym Leader Chikorita can handle? Paralysis and/or Smokescreen hax could admittedly ruin you but it never brought me down on any of 3 tries, and besides, it ain’t S for a reason.

Gyarados (L39): Gyara outpaces and just barely fails to OHKO D-Air 1 with PB Return. Slam does like only 20 damage, basically a 7HKO. D-Air 2 uses Thunderbolt on me as I cure paralysis with a Full Heal and I survive with only 10 HP after two consecutive Slams…so a 3HKO? I use Endure to ensure I get to 1 HP off the next Thunderbolt…and then it is PB Flail time. D-Air 2 fell immediately. D-Air 3 was OHKOed too. Outpaced Kingdra and…OHKOed again!

Try 2 went the same as Try 1 apart from D-Air 1 not using T-Wave at all and just (one) Slam before falling. Unfortunately, D-Air 2 did paralyze me upon coming in, and I used a Full Heal immediately. Took a T-Bolt into the yellow and then Endured the next one. The rest was history, Kingdra included.

Try 3 went the same as Try 2 apart from D-Air 2 not even bothering with Thunder Wave, so no healing needed whatsoever.

A-Tier. Potential paralysis or a crit at the wrong time can end your career and you do need one Parlyz Heal or Przcureberry, but the former is fairly unlikely; alternatively, you can bring Gyara to 1 HP by having wild Pokemon reduce your HP through Poison (albeit time-consuming) and only fighting Clair once Gyara is absolutely at 1 HP and no lower.

Rival 5:

Meganium (L40 -> L41 after Sneasel -> L42 after Haunter): Meganium outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Sneasel with PB Return; Fury Cutter does diddly squat but Screech can suck a bit if Golbat comes in next. Replaced Poisonpowder with Light Screen. Outpace and reliably 2HKO Golbat with PB Return; Confuse Ray still sucks, but Wing Attack only 4HKOes. Outpace Typhlosion if you are on green HP still and set up Light Screen; Flame Wheel now only 5HKOes from full HP. Healed with Synthesis and then reliably 2HKOed with Earthquake while PB Return only 3HKOes; Smokescreen sucks and I got burned on one try.

You outpace Magneton and OHKO with Earthquake; Haunter too. Outpace and OHKO Kadabra with PB Return. Probably need a Full Heal for Golbat. Actually does pretty WELL, will not need more than a Full Heal unless you get unlucky enough to be burned by Typhlosion. Would unironically say A normally, but sadly, you do need the highly competitive EQ ™…so B.

Gyarados (L40): Outpace Sneasel; PB Return instantly, reliably OHKOes. Outpace and reliably 2HKO Magneton with Surf (do not try to set up Flail against Sneasel as he can Quick Attack you); Paralysis sucks. Thundershock only 2HKOes you reliably. Outpace Golbat and reliably 2HKO with PB Return. Outpace Haunter and reliably 2HKO with Surf, essentially OHKO with Curse. Outpace and OHKO Kadabra with PB Return. Outpace and reliably 2HKO Typhlosion with Surf or PB Return. Probably need a Hyper Potion and a Full Heal (or two of either) to clear but can beat anyone one-on-one mostly and practically have a fair shot at soloing if not for Magneton and/or Golbat. B-Tier.

Will:

Meganium (L42 -> L43 after Exeggutor): Outpace Xatus. PB Return 2-3HKOes (in favor of 2); Psychic only 4HKOes in return. Confuse Ray sucks. Outpace Jynx, set up Light Screen ASAP; Lovely Kiss, well, sucks (if it hits); Screened Ice Punch only 4HKOes. PB Return reliably 2HKOes (narrowly misses a OHKO)…the first time I see Jynx surviving a physical attack, but oh well. PB Return only seems to 3HKO; Psychic from Exeggutor only 4HKOes under Light Screen. Set up Light Screen if it ever falls against Exeggutor unless they are already in the red and you can Return. One-two Synthesis should do. As for items, you are unlikely to need more than a Full Restore or two. Outpace Slowbro but poor AI may use Amnesia first instead of Curse; even after one Curse, Return reliably 4HKOes and Psychic does as much damage as Xatus. Not bad, actually, but Confuse Ray shenanigans and Lovely Kiss suck, and you may need a Full Restore or two (but Will has a Max Potion, so not that bad, right?). A fair bit tricky, but doable. C-Tier.

Gyarados (L40): Do NOT use Endure + Flail against Xatus as they have Quick Attack and/or Confuse Ray. PB Return reliably 2HKOes both Xatus, Confuse Ray sucks; Psychic is only a 4HKO on you. Outpace Xatus. Outpace Jynx and OHKO with PB Return. Outpace Slowbro; PB Return reliably 3HKOes if no Curse, and even if he does Curse once (again, poor AI helps you here by using Amnesia first). Xatu 2 actually outspeeds you and can nearly kill you with Psychic after Slowbro; as Xatu 2 likes to use Confuse Ray and can hit you. Once Exeggutor comes in, fully heal if you are heavily damaged as Psychic 3HKOes you here. PB Return reliably 3HKOes unfortunately - enough to win purely one-on-one - but not if you took damage and/or try to heal it. PB Flail KOes Exeggutor after one PB Return, however, so use Endure once and only once you are already one hit away from KO range, take the next attack, and Flail back to kill.

May actually need a couple or more Full Restores especially. C-Tier; everyone is beatable one-on-one technically and you can take on and out multiple members singlehandedly, but good luck sweeping more than 2 members or even near-sweeping itemless.

Koga:

Meganium (L42 -> L43 after Muk): Outpace Ariados and just 2HKO with PB Return; kind of a joke as all he can usually do is Double Team (usually not enough to avoid Return) or Spider Web (lol). Outpace Venomoth and 2HKO with Return; Supersonic can be annoying but has very bad accuracy so probably not an issue. Outpace Muk and 2HKO with Earthquake but Sludge Bomb reliably 2HKOes you back and can poison; bad AI means Minimize instead of anything more useful. Crobat outpaces and is reliably 3HKOed by PB Return; Wing Attack is a reliable 3HKO on you, however, and he outpaces you. Toxic can suck but Double Team is largely a free turn. Earthquake 5HKOes Forretress or something, do not engage (especially if poisoned). At least, you may need a Full Restore by that point; Swift does pathetic damage but Explosion can kill you at least after a couple or so Swifts. D-Tier, you can beat everyone one-on-one but Forretress and possibly Crobat and need EQ just to 2HKO or beat Muk with difficulty (so it does not even help that much). Could still make it to C if not for EQ being competitive.

Gyarados (L41 -> L42 after Crobat): Reliably outpace and 2HKO Ariados with PB Return; Giga Drain does like 12 HP of damage or so, not worth it. Outpace and reliably 3HKO Forretress with Surf; he likely will not use Explosion quickly enough to kill you. Outpace and reliably 3HKO Muk with PB Return; Sludge Bomb, a reliable 3HKO back on you. Crobat outpaces and is reliably 2HKOed by PB Return; Wing Attack only 4HKOes. Outpace Venomoth and reliably 2HKO with Return; Psychic only 5HKOes or so. Not bad, but can go wrong due to bad hax, but unlikely. Should not need more than one Full Restore. A-Tier. Everyone is beatable one-on-one and you can sweep the full team with just a bit of healing aid. Not worth setting up PB Flail here as Muk may survive it and Crobat outspeeds and revenges.

Bruno:

Gyarados (L42): Gyarados outpaces Hitmontop; Quick Attack does laughable damage (even a crit Quick Attack only 5HKOes) while PB Return reliably 2HKOes back. Outpace Hitmonchan and reliably 2HKO with PB Return; Thunderpunch only 3HKOes. PB Return reliably outpaces and 3HKOes Machamp but Rock Slide reliably 2HKOes you back, so not worth it. PB Return reliably outpaces and OHKOes Hitmonlee. However, once Hitmonlee or Machamp arrives, whichever comes first, DO set up Endure + Flail. You outpace and OHKO Onix with Surf. PB Endure Flail narrowly misses a OHKO on Machamp, so not worth it. Rock Slide is a reliable 2HKO on you. Do NOT try to set up Endure + Flail for that reason, and the reason two others have priority and Onix Sandstorm. You do pretty well and can practically rip 5/6ths of his team apart, but Machamp is a massive problem. B-Tier.

Meganium (L42 -> L43 after Hitmonlee): Outpace Hitmontop; crit Quick Attack only 6HKOes, so a joke. PB Return reliably 3HKOes. No need to set Light Screen against Hitmonchan. Yes, you outpace and reliably 3HKO again; Fire Punch only 4HKOes. Outpace and reliably 2HKO Hitmonlee with PB Return; Cross Chop from Machamp is a 3HKO barring a crit (then a 2HKO), so a pretty risky matchup. PB Return only 3HKOes, in contrast, but you are faster. If you are fighting Machamp after other teammates, you cannot win unless you fish for a Cross Chop miss and/or Return crit (and CC does not crit). Onix is a joke, you outpace him and 2HKO with Earthquake. B-Tier, just like Gyarados.

Karen:

Gyarados (L42): Outpace Umbreon; PB Return reliably 3HKOes and Faint Attack only 8HKOes in return. Gengar outpaces you and is only 3HKOed by Surf (2HKOed after Curse and Lick can be annoying if it paralyzes); do NOT engage Gengar as Destiny Bond is there. Outpaces Vileplume and reliably 2HKOes with PB Return, but Stun Spore sucks; Petal Dance is only a 3-4HKO. Outpace and reliably 2HKO Murkrow with PB Return; Faint Attack only seems to 5HKO back. Houndoom outpaces and reliably 3HKOes with Crunch; Surf and PB Return, in return, only 2HKO. You can beat everyone one-on-one basically but Gengar but you cannot sweep reliably. C-Tier.

Meganium (L43 -> L44): Outpace and Return only 4HKOes; Sand-Attack sucks a bit, and Faint Attack is bad (but for Karen, not you, a 7HKO). Confuse Ray is even worse. Outpace Vileplume but Stun Spore sucks. PB Return reliably 3HKOes while Acid only like 5HKOes but Moonlight can be (a bit) annoying. Petal Dance does laughable damage, like a 5HKO. Houndoom is a no; he outpaces and reliably OHKOes while EQ reliably 2HKOes back. C-Tier, pretty rough fight but you can 1-vs-1 pretty much anyone not called Houndoom. You outpace and 2HKO Murkrow with PB Return; Faint Attack only like 5HKOes you. Gengar outpaces you and is only 2HKOed by Earthquake (OHKOed after Curse).

Lance:

Meganium (L44 -> L45 after Aerodactyl): Meganium outpaces and reliably 3HKOes Gyarados with PB Return; Hyper Beam only 3HKOes in return. Outpace D-Nite 1; set up Light Screen so Blizzard only 3HKOes and Twister only…10HKOes under Light Screen, 5HKOes otherwise. PB Return reliably 4HKOes. Hyper Beam seems to 2-3HKO. Aerodactyl resists you; Wing Attack surprisingly only 3HKOes and so does Hyper Beam, but you only 5HKO with PB Return in return, and Aero outpaces; you need Synthesis (or more likely, Full Restore) spam and a bit of luck just to get through Aero. L45 Meganium outpaces Charizard and can (barely) take one Flamethrower outside Light Screen, so is only 3HKOed by Flamethrower under; you 3HKO with PB Return. L50 D-Nite is basically D-Nite 1 but better (and Fire Blast is more accurate than Blizzard too), Meganium unfortunately never survived till that point. Not horrible. You can actually beat individual members (minus Aero, but Aero is Aero). No sweeping and half the team is bad for you, albeit the other half is fairly manageable. C-Tier.

Gyarados (L42 -> L43 after Gyarados -> L44 after D-Nite 3): Outpaces and 2-3HKOes rival Gyarados with PB Return; Hyper Beam seems to be a 2-3HKO. Ditto for D-Nites, but Thunder D-Nite is a no which is the first to come after you (OHKO if you take any amount of damage, possibly even from full HP, and may paralyze you) and Hyper Beam is a consistent 2HKO. Even Endure + 1 HP Flail does not kill in return from full HP, albeit barely. Aerodactyl outpaces and Rock Slide reliably 2HKOes and can flinch; Surf only 2HKOes in return, too, so you lose one-on-one or after the fact. L50 D-Nite only 3HKOes with Outrage while PB Return reliably 3HKOes and you outpace; you can even take advantage of D-Nite to set up Endure + Flail, which kills D-Nite 3 after Outrage. Charizard outpaces you so you cannot continue Endure + Flail against him, but Flamethrower only 4HKOes at best and Hyper Beam 3HKOes only while Surf reliably 2HKOes. You can beat everyone one-on-one but Aero and D-Nite 1 and even sweep the rest in succession with a bit of luck, so B-Tier?

Rating Tally:

S (5): Chuck, Pryce
A (4): Jasmine, Koga, Rival 4, Clair
B (3): Rival 5, Bruno, Lance
C (2): Will, Karen
D (1): N/A
E (0.5): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 11

Rating score for Magikarp: ((10 + 16 + 9 + 2) / 11) = 3.36 (B+/B-, solidly B)

Conclusion: Rise to B Tier. Really strong with Return + Surf and downright terrifying with Endure + Flail; that said, getting a L20 Magikarp up to speed isn't that much better than getting a L15 Tauros up to speed, and their E4 performance is actually quite underwhelming between priority moves and high enemy bulk. The stat distribution of Gyarados before the physical-special split really did not favor the sea serpent, and that is clear here.

Grading Point Legend

S
= 5 grade points
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points
C = 2 grade points
D = 1 grade point
E = 0.5 grade points
F = 0 grade points

Rating Tally:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Whitney, Chuck, Pryce, Clair
B (3): Rival 5, Bruno
C (2): Falkner, Rival 2, Rival 4, Will, Karen, Lance
D (1): Bugsy, Rival 3, Morty, Koga, Jasmine
E (0.5): N/A
F (0): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 17

Rating score for Chikorita ((16 + 6 + 12 + 5) / 17) = 2.29 (C+/C, leaning in favor of C)

Conclusion: C Tier. This one wasn't even difficult, tbh. Chikorita can be surprisingly good a number of times against some really tough bosses, and I am willing to consider I may not have used mine the best way; I should have kept Mud-Slap and ditched Razor Leaf/Poisonpowder long ago, but the fact you need to work so hard to make one usable says it all, really. Grass is an awful offensive type and a mediocre defensive type and a near-total lack of good coverage not called Earthquake - which comes VERY late and is kinda useless against the E4 anyway - and even STAB moves makes Chikorita unquestionably the worst starter. I tested Cyndaquil and Totodile before, and both were far better mons.

If I had to nominate Magikarp and Chikorita according to the tier list we have here, I would nominate Magikarp for B. I would unironically have nominated Chikorita for D as the tier list seems to have stricter standards than I do and I honestly found some D-Tiers like Butterfree more consistent, but I missed my chance to make my opinion heard while there was still time and can only share my thoughts. Meganium practically cannot OHKO to save his life and even only 2HKOes the frailest mons or mons weak to him, a small number as befits D. Gyarados actually consistently 2HKOes most things, however, and even OHKOes a fair few enemy bosses and aces if set up properly (and sometimes without), albeit item reliance is needed at times.

Edit: Next, I wanna try Qwilfish and Stantler. I tried Stantler in the past but sadly provided incomplete logs, so I'm determined to do it properly now. I plan to use the Friend Ball on Stantler so I can get Return on him ASAP and at reasonably high strength.
 
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Done!

Catching Qwilfish was actually moderately easy; just beat Falkner, got that Fisherman's number, went to Mom, toggled DST on and off once, and the Fisherman called to report the Qwilfish swarm. Only issue is the backtrack (not major IMO) and getting a boy Qwilfish to guarantee good Attack.

Catching Stantler was a bit annoying, but no more so than Tauros was (arguably less so, actually). Stantler is a fair bit more common, for one, and it did feel easier even if I wanted to ensure mine was a boy - not sure that would matter a lot in practice, to be frank.

Bugsy: Qwilfish (L15 -> L16 after Metapod): PB Swift 3HKOes Metapod even after one Harden; ditto for Kakuna. Swift 4HKOes Scyther while Fury Cutter only 4HKOes in return even after prior damage from at least Metapod. You outpace everyone but cocoons, and if you're paranoid about Scyther, you can set up Minimize (or Harden) to +6 against one of the cocoons safely (Kakuna is safer), which makes the already slightly shaky accuracy Fury Cutter setup nigh impossible. A-Tier, you do well but want the Swift ™ to get through everyone as quickly as you can - Poison Sting is ass and bad against Kakuna, but it should be fine for Scyther and Metapod regardless. No items needed!

Rival 2:

Qwilfish (L17): You likely don't have Water Gun yet (only learned at L19), so you can't even touch Gastly. You outspeed Bayleef; OB Swift 4HKOes before Growl and 66HKOes after (Reflect is even worse, but he usually started with Growl and only once), whereas even non-crit Razor Leaf 4HKOes - sadly, I ditched Poison Sting. Pretty tough matchup and can be derailed by a crit at the wrong time, but not entirely awful. Zubat at least is reliably 3HKOed by PB Swift and Bite only…9HKOes? You will probably need a Potion between Bayleef and Zubat, assuming confusion hax doesn't occur in which case you may need one more or a Bitter Berry. You would likely do much better against Quilava and Croconaw for obvious reasons. C-Tier overall (considering all 3 possibilities), given you need Swift to be relevant.

Whitney:

Qwilfish (L20): Outpace Clefairy and set up Rollout. Rollout 3HKOes Clefairy ordinarily. Even five hits from DoubleSlap only brought me to 43/59 HP. Miltank outspeeds you but only 3-4HKOes you with Rollout even after 5 DoubleSlap hits while you 2HKO with Rollout from Clefairy. A-Tier with Rollout, B otherwise; technically loseable due to Rollout misses and Metronome RNG, and setting up Minimize isn't super safe against Clefairy for the latter reason (even if it would theoretically help a lot against Miltank), and you do need Rollout ™. That said, does pretty well.

Rival 3:

Qwilfish (L22): Outpace Haunter; Surf and Rollout both 2HKO (effectively OHKOes if Haunter uses Curse). Swap Qwilfish out and sack another Mon to Magnemite to undo Curse and bring the fish in safely. Outpace and reliably 2HKO Magnemite with Surf, Supersonic can suck and Thundershock only 3HKOes (may 2HKO if accounting for Curse damage). If you start with Rollout, effectively 2HKO Haunter with Rollout too, 2HKO Magnemite after, OHKO Zubat after, and then stop before Bayleef (making it better to just set it up against Zubat directly).

Outpace Zubat and reliably 2HKO with Surf, Confuse Ray sucks as usual; PB Headbutt, or Rollout; use Rollout as that helps a lot more against Bayleef (2HKOes if used twice against Zubat). Bite doesn't even 4HKO you in return. Consider holding a Bitter Berry as Confuse Ray has perfect accuracy and will screw you over in the event Curse doesn't. Razor Leaf from Bayleef 4HKOes barring crits but reliably 2HKOes if it crits even once; PB Headbutt 3HKOes Bayleef, better to set up Rollout against Zubat (Rollout 2HKOes after).

Qwilfish can nearly beat everyone one-on-one and ALMOST sweep (Bayleef being the hardest and only one with shaky odds; if Silver has Quilava or Croconaw, you likely do much better) but soloing is very difficult if not impossible without Rollout, the post-Haunter safe double switch, and a held Bitter Berry for Confuse Ray from Zubat. B-Tier. Even then, a Rollout miss or untimely crit can kill you against Bayleef.

Morty:

Qwilfish (L25 -> L26 after Gengar): Outpaces and 2HKOes Gastly with Rollout, who likes to start with Spite instead of Curse at times. Outpaces and OHKOes Haunter with boosted Rollout - Night Shade is a 4HKO from full HP. Gengar outpaces you but likes to use Mean Look first for some reason (Hypnosis can be deterred by a held Mint Berry) and falls to boosted Rollout. Outpace Haunter 2 and OHKO with boosted Rollout. If you have Rollout and never miss and a held Mint Berry, you clear easily. A-Tier normally, B-Tier if you account for the cost of Rollout.

Surf OHKOes Gastly, 2HKOes both Haunters, and 3HKOes Gengar - not that good without Rollout.

Pryce:

Stantler (L30): Outpaces everyone. PB Return OHKOes Seel, 2HKOes Dewgong reliably (Aurora Beam only 4-5HKOes in return), and 2HKOes Piloswine reliably (Blizzard only seems to 3HKO in return). A-Tier. Would be S but I'm counting the investment for Return against him.

Qwilfish (L30): Outpaces everyone. Poison Barb Sludge Bomb OHKOes Seel and 2HKOes Dewgong; Headbutt only like 6HKOes in return. Surf reliably 2HKOes Piloswine who only 4HKOes back at best with Blizzard. S-Tier.

Chuck:

Qwilfish (L31): Outpaces and OHKOes Primeape with Poison Barb Sludge Bomb; Fury Swipes does pathetic damage, not worth repeating here, and Karate Chop like only 7HKOes in return barring crits. 3HKOes Poliwrath with Sludge Bomb (2HKOes if you inflict poison). May want a non-held Bitter Berry if Dynamicpunch confuses you or an Awakening Hypnosis hits, but it only 4-5HKOes in itself. A-Tier - actually S-Tier, accounting for if you set up a couple or so Minimizes on Ape.

Stantler (L30): Outpaces and OHKOes Primeape with Pink Bow Return. Outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Poliwrath with PB Return. Dynamicpunch OHKOes but its awful accuracy means you can realistically have a solid chance of winning and not getting hit. B-Tier, only not A because of Friend Ball investment. Unlike Tauros, you cannot use Strength, so no alternative to Return investment.

Jasmine:

Qwilfish (L31): Outpaces everyone. Barely misses a OHKO on either Magnemite with Surf; Thunderbolt OHKOes in return. Outpaces Steelix, Iron Tail only 4HKOes while Surf 2HKOes (and reliably 3HKOes even under Sunny Day). C-Tier as you can take the ace with a bit of trouble at worst but the Mags are too much.

Stantler (L31): Outpaces everyone. Mud-Slap reliably 2HKOes Magnemites, as does PB Return. Thunder Wave and Supersonic suck as usual. Thunderbolt reliably 3HKOes you in return. Mud-Slap does pitiful damage to Steelix but does ruin Iron Tail's accuracy; unfortunately, if it hits, it still 2HKOes, and Return does more damage (in spite of being resisted) than Mud-Slap but not by a lot. You can pull through but need a Parlyz Heal or two and a Hyper Potion or two, as well as some Hypnosis and/or Iron Tail luck. Pretty bad matchup, D-Tier given the Return costs and the fact it barely suffices here.

Rival 4:

Qwilfish (L33 -> 34 after Haunter): Outpace everyone but Sneasel. Mystic Water Surf 2-3HKOes Golbat while Wing Attack only 4HKOes back; Confuse Ray, again, can be annoying. Mystic Water Surf narrowly misses a OHKO on Magnemite; however, Thundershock only 3HKOes in return. Mystic Water Surf 2HKOes Haunter (OHKOes essentially as Haunter likes to use Curse immediately). Sneasel only 6HKOes with Faint Attack while Sludge Bomb reliably 2HKOes back. Sludge Bomb reliably 2HKOes Meganium (OHKOes if it poisons) before he can even say Reflect. Razor Leaf only 3HKOes back barring crits, 2HKOes if crits. B-Tier as you can nearly solo (and can beat anyone one-on-one) but probably may need healing for Confuse Ray and a swap to undo Curse.

Stantler (L33 -> L34 after Magnemite): Outpace everyone but Sneasel. PB Return reliably 2HKOes Golbat; Wing Attack only 5HKOes in return, and Confuse Ray still sucks. PB Return and Mud-Slap both 2HKO Magnemite; Thunder Wave still sucks and Sonicboom only 6HKOes from full HP. Mud-Slap reliably 2HKOes if Haunter Curses before or after. Sneasel dies to one PB Return, Meganium to two; even Screech + Body Slam only 2-3HKOes you, even if paralysis can be problematic potentially. C-Tier as you can beat practically everyone one-on-one but cannot sleep (albeit needing Mud-Slap for Haunter) but cannot sweep without a status heal or two (Magnemite and Haunter) and need to swap out to undo Curse.

Clair:

Qwilfish (L40): Outpace everyone; Poison Barb Sludge Bomb reliably 2HKOes D-Airs (OHKOes if poisoned). Sadly, Thunderbolt from D-Air 2 2HKOes and if D-Air 1 paralyzed you, you may die there unless you have a Full Restore or swap Qwilfish out to heal. Dragonbreath only 5HKOes from everyone but Kingdra (3HKOes if from Dra), in contrast. Definitely want two Parlyz Heals and a single Hyper Potion at least. Hyper Beam only 3HKOes from Dra. Poison Barb Sludge Bomb 2-3HKOes Kingdra. You can 1-v-1 the ace and beat any D-Air 1-on-1, but you need item support to clear or sweep reliably. B-Tier it is.

Stantler (L39): Outpaces everyone and OHKOes every D-Air with PB Return. Kingdra is reliably 2HKOed, but Hyper Beam 2HKOes back and Smokescreen can be a bit annoying (but only a bit). A-Tier, only because a crit Hyper Beam could potentially kill you and due to the Friend Ball cost.

Rival 5:

Qwilfish (L40 -> L41 after Kadabra): Outpace everyone. Poison Barb Sludge Bomb OHKOes Sneasel. Surf reliably 2HKOes Magneton (even with Mystic Water) but Thundershock only 3HKOes in return; paralysis sucks as usual. PB Sludge Bomb OHKOes Kadabra. Surf 2HKOes Golbat but Confuse Ray sucks as usual. Surf 2HKOes Haunter (OHKOes with Curse). Sludge Bomb OHKOes Meganium. Razor Leaf only 4HKOes back barring crits, 2HKOes if crits. You can beat anyone one-on-one but soloing can be tricky due to Curse and Thunder Wave/Confuse Ray shenanigans. B-Tier.

Stantler (L40 -> L41 after Kadabra): Outpace everyone. Pink Bow Return OHKOes Sneasel and Kadabra and 2HKOes Golbat - veeeeery narrowly misses a OHKO (confusion can suck, however). Earthquake OHKOes Magneton and Haunter. Return reliably 2HKOes Meganium; Body Slam only 4HKOes back. A-Tier, only not S because of EQ dependency and Golbat hax (Friend Ball dependency at this point probably does not really matter so much so no points off for that).

Will:

Qwilfish (L41): Outpaces everyone and 2HKOes Xatus, OHKOes Jynx, 3HKOes Slowbro, and 2HKOes Exeggutor with Poison Barb Sludge Bomb. Even Xatu 1 literally OHKOes you with Psychic, however, and everyone else hits you even harder. Setting up Curlout is not recommended, nor possible. E-Tier.

Stantler (L41 -> L42 after Exeggutor): Reliably outpaces everyone; PB Return reliably 2HKOes Xatus (Psychic 3HKOes in return), OHKOes Jynx, and 2HKOes (3HKOes if Reflect cast) Exeggutor; Psychic 2HKOes in return. Even Slowbro gets 2HKOed if Reflect is not up and 3HKOed if Curse is once or twice. Will probably need 2-3 Hyper Potions to ensure sweep. You can beat anyone one-on-one and sweep multiple members back-to-back but cannot fully sweep sans item support. Hypnosis can be used on Slowbro and Exeggutor to defeat them more safely and prevent Curse/Reflect setup if you are serious about soloing but shoddy accuracy can get you yet. B-Tier.

Koga:

Stantler (L42 -> L43 after Forretress): Outpaces everyone but Crobat. PB Return 2HKOes Ariados; Double Team is just mildly annoying and Giga Drain pitiful. It 2-OHKOes Venomoth; Psychic only 5-4HKOes in return. Use Hypnosis + Nightmare or EQ on Forretress as otherwise it can take a beating and blow you up. Even then, Earthquake only 5HKOes Forretress; not efficient. Swift only 5HKOes back but Explosion OHKOes easily. Both PB Return and Earthquake only 2HKO Muk; Sludge Bomb 2-3HKOes you, however. Crobat outspeeds and Wing Attack 4HKOes but PB Return 2HKOes back. Not bad, but you may need a Hyper Potion. May. B-Tier.

Qwilfish (L42): Outpaces everyone but Crobat. Mystic Water Surf 2-3HKOes Ariados, even accounting for Giga Drain healing twice; Giga Drain does pitiful damage back, a 5HKO or so. Venomoth reliably 2HKOes with Psychic and is only 3HKOed by MW Surf, unfortunately. Forretress is Defense Curl setup bait, albeit risky due to Explosion and you may need a Max Potion if you do approach yellow/red HP (better to set up Defense Curl to make it easier to handle Crobat). Swift does horrible damage and increasingly so. Setting up Curlout is too risky here, just use Surf for offense - MW Surf 2-3HKOes. Muk is 4HKOed by MW Surf and does negligible damage with Sludge Bomb at +6. Crobat is 3HKOed; you may need a Max Potion due to bad RNG between Crobat and Forretress, maybeee two, and you are better off leaving Venomoth to someone else entirely. C-Tier.

Bruno:

Qwilfish (L43): Outpace everyone; Hitmontop is Defense Curl setup bait, and does like 19 damage even with Dig (not even a 6HKO, or barely that) after just +2 Curls - Dig chargeup, of course, gives you time to set up two Curls. PB Sludge Bomb reliably 2HKOes Top in return. Hitmonchan faces the same fate, and Thunderpunch is only a 3HKO at best barring crits. If Top and/or Chan crits you or paralyzes you, you may need healing, but otherwise, you are good. Lee gets OHKOed by PB Sludge Bomb. Onix dies to Surf. PB Sludge Bomb 3HKOes (5HKOes due to Max Potion, 2HKOes if poisoned on turn 1 at least); Cross Chop does pitiful damage unless it crits, at which point it admittedly can get a bit scary. This is your fight to win and you may not need more than one Max Potion - like Bruno. A-Tier.

Stantler (L42 -> L43 after Hitmonchan): Outpaces everyone but Mach Punch Chan. Hitmontop you reliably 2HKO with PB Return; Top uses Dig, but if you use EQ during Dig chargeup, you kill him immediately. Hitmonlee is OHKOed. Mach Punch from Chan 3HKOes you but PB Return 2HKOes back. Machamp is reliably 2HKOed by PB Return (3HKOed if Max Potion) but OHKOes you with Cross Chop - if you must try to solo, use Hypnosis. Onix only 4HKOes you with EQ while you reliably 2HKO back. May need a Hyper Potion yourself and potentially lose to Champ due to bad luck and ofc need EQ, but otherwise, this is yours to lose. B-Tier.

Karen:

Stantler (L43 -> L44 after Gengar): Outpaces everyone but Doom (you speed tie) and Gengar; 2-3HKOes Umbreon and 2HKOes Vileplume with PB Return and is only 3HKOed by Petal Dance. Sand-Attack and Confuse Ray, as always, suc. Gengar likes to waste time by Cursing so EQ easily kills. PB Return OHKOes Murkrow. Houndoom outspeeds and Flamethrower reliably 2HKOes; your own EQ and Return do so too back, so you basically lose one-and-one. Will probably need to swap out to undo Sand-Attack and possible confusion, and you cannot beat Houndoom by yourself directly unless you are lucky or rely on Hypnosis hax. To be fair, if you are just a bit lucky with Hypnosis and use it on Umbreon and/or Doom, you can potentially sweep everyone. And, of course, you need EQ just to touch Gengar. C-Tier.

Qwilfish (L43): Outpaces everyone but Doom and Gar; Poison Barb Sludge Bomb 3HKOes Umbreon; as always, swap out to undo Sand-Attacks. Vileplume Petal Dance only 3HKOes you while PB Sludge Bomb 2HKOes back. Gengar is 3HKOed by Surf but Lick is annoying and Destiny Bond terrifying; as Gengar will use Destiny Bond due to being in KO range and you being slower, do NOT use Qwilfish to KO Gengar. PB Sludge Bomb 2-OHKOes Murkrow (OHKOes if poisons) but Faint Attack 3HKOes from full HP. Crunch from Houndoom reliably 2HKOes you while your own Surf only 2HKOes back too - you cannot win one-on-one. C-Tier also.

Lance:

Stantler (L44 -> L45 after D-Nite 1): Outpaces everyone but Aerodactyl and Charizard. PB Return reliably 2HKOes Gyarados and Charizard, 3HKOes Aerodactyl, and 2-3HKOes D-Nites; Hyper Beam 2HKOes in return, and T-Wave sucks as usual. Outrage, Flamethrower, Blizzard, etc also all 2HKO you. Need more than a couple Full Restores and need a fair bit of luck - and very likely land Hypnosis for Zard and Aero at least - to reliably clear. C-Tier.

Qwilfish (L43 -> L44 after D-Nite 2): Outpace everyone but Aero and Zard. Set up Defense Curl on first turn for Curlout; Gyarados will often start with Flail which is weak or Surf (only a 5HKO) and then use Hyper Beam after which does not even bring you to yellow from anyone (maaaybeee D-Nite 3 aside). Curlout 2HKOes Gyara, OHKOes D-Nite 1, 2, and 3 in quick succession. You stop in front of Charizard, who dies to two Surfs and who only 3HKOes you from full HP with Flamethrower. Aerodactyl is killed by Rollout afterwards. Probably need around 3 Full Restores, but not more unless your luck turns sour. B-Tier. You could probably still do relatively decently with Sludge Bomb (should 3HKO D-Nites based on my calcs and experience), but Curlout is far better and more efficient. Still, you need a ™ for Rollout, so I gotta count that against you. And besides, it is the final battle…

Rating Tally:

S (5): Chuck, Pryce
A (4): Bugsy, Bruno
B (3): Whitney, Rival 3, Morty, Rival 4, Clair, Rival 5, Lance
C (2): Rival 2, Koga, Karen
D (1): N/A
E (0.5): Will

Number of Fights Participated: 16

Rating score for Qwilfish: ((10 + 8 + 24 + 6 + 0.5) / 16) = 3.03 (solidly B)

Conclusion: Rise to B Tier

Grading Point Legend

S
= 5 grade points
A = 4 grade points
B = 3 grade points
C = 2 grade points
D = 1 grade point
E = 0.5 grade points
F = 0 grade points

Rating Tally:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Pryce, Clair, Rival 5
B (3): Chuck, Will, Koga, Bruno
C (2): Rival 4, Karen, Lance
D (1): Jasmine
E (0.5): N/A
F (0): N/A

Number of Fights Participated: 11

Rating score for Stantler ((12 + 12 + 6 + 1) / 11) = 2.82 (C+/B-, leaning in favor of B)

Conclusion: B Tier.

Nominate Qwilfish for B and Stantler for B (at minimum C).

Qwilfish is actually quite strong - decent speed, solid physical bulk, and a surprising amount of power made him really good in boss battles. You do need a fair few competitive TMs (Swift, Sludge Bomb, and Rollout) and one non-competitive one (Defense Curl) to optimize one, and his lack of Special Attack and Special Defense betrays him in some important fights; however, he is really good, pretty easy to obtain, and ultimately a fun and strong Pokemon that remains handy from the beginning to the end. Also fairly easy to obtain, and I'm not sure the gender is an issue.

Stantler is solid, too - the only real catch is that you kinda need a Friend Ball strategy to optimize one, and catching one can be difficult owing to their low catch rate. Unlike Tauros, Stantler cannot learn Strength and would be forced to rely on Headbutt as Normal-type STAB otherwise, but it is quite possible in hindsight that I overestimated said cost and he could be even be more solidly B. Only competitive TMs you need is Earthquake, Mud-Slap is actually pretty useless unless you want to fight Morty with one too, but that would defeat the entire point of the Friend Ball strat. The deer is almost as strong as Tauros, fairly fast, and has cool - if unreliable - hax in Hypnosis; that said, I did find him a little frail for my liking, specially at least.

All right! Next up, I would like to try Poliwag -> Poliwrath (C) and Meowth. Plan to catch Meowth with a Friend Ball too.

Edit: Change of plans. I feel really burned out on Water-types and Normal-types, and I sincerely doubt Meowth will or should ever be above C (even Normal-types that have far better stats like Stantler and Tauros aren't A-material). I plan to instead try Mareep and Girafarig.
 
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Completed another set of trials. I actually went ahead and tested a 3rd Pokemon in addition to the other two - that being Geodude (Trade Evo). I also believe the retest was needed as it transpired I was using him the wrong way - I completely neglected Selfdestruct and how effective Magnitude actually was (compared to Dig), and it turned out he needed no TMs at all to do an amazing job, IMO.

Geodude (L11, Female): Pidgey outspeeds but only 10HKOes with Mud-Slap; Rock Throw OHKOes back, but misses can be a bit annoying. Pidgeotto outspeeds and 5HKOes with Mud-Slap while Rock Throw 2-OHKOes back. I easily won on my first try and needed no items (albeit I critted Pidgeotto and OHKOed). Also won on my second try and itemless in spite of not critting. Third try saw me crit Pidgey - not that I needed it - and IIRC OHKO Pidgeotto without a crit - no items needed here either. Even tried a fourth time and this time I did need a Berry due to missing Rock Throw too much, but I won - no crits at all. Even tried a 5th time…still won even if I needed Berry healing again, but still no crits. You can lose, but why would you? Berries are dime-a-dozen this early in the game so no point counting it. A-Tier. Revised ranking.

Geodude (L15, Female): Bugsy went down the same as last time in spite of being female and underleveled. S-Tier.

Flaaffy (L16 -> L17 after Kakuna): You outspeed both cocoons; Thundershock reliably 2HKOes and Poison Sting from Kakuna only…17HKOes you (not accounting for Poison damage)? Scyther outspeeds you but is reliably 3HKOed by Thundershock and couldn’t even 3HKO me with Fury Cutter, even with poison damage backing (albeit he did drive me to 1 HP). I could see an untimely crit, combined with poison damage from Kakuna, killing you- Metapod likes to Harden and does comparable damage with Tackle and cannot even poison you, so fat chance of him being a threat or even part of it - but this never happened to me on any of my 3 tries, and you can benefit from paralysis too. A-Tier at least.

Rival 2:

Geodude (L16): Same as last time, in spite of me being a bit more underleveled; even Magnitude 5 can OHKO Gastly. Bayleef is obviously a no. Zubat outspeeds you and Bite 4-5HKOes but Rock Throw OHKOes back. C, just like last time.

Flaaffy (L17 -> L18 after Gastly): Gastly outspeeds you but Lick only like 18HKOes you and Thundershock reliably 2HKOes back. Bayleef outspeeds you; Razor Leaf usually 5HKOes you (barring crits), but Thundershock only like 9HKOes back itself, so you probably lose unless you paralyze Bayleef with Thunder Wave, and can still lose even then unless you heal. You outspeed and OHKO Zubat with Thundershock. Overall, not too bad given that Flaaffy has a disadvantage against Bayleef; I am sure she would do much better against Quilava, let alone Croconaw. I did not bother with Tackle as Bayleef likes to cast Reflect and Tackle can miss and does comparable if not worse damage (Flaaffy has much higher SpA than Attack). B-Tier.

Whitney:

Geodude (L20): First try without Rollout, killed Clefairy with two Magnitudes in spite of nearly dying to Metronome -> Clamp, before dying to a couple of Miltank Stomps (one flinching me). Second try, just spammed Magnitude like a madman…and won, no item support needed. Third try, lost to a crit on Rollout from Miltank but brought her to red.

Magnitude 7 reliably 2HKOes Clefairy, but only 4-5HKOes Miltank; Magnitude 6, however, only 3HKOes Clefairy (barely missing a 2HKO), so there is a big difference. Rollout 4-5HKOes you in return, at least after slight Clefairy damage. Ultimately, you are not soloing bar a Gold Berry, which to be fair is not at all difficult to procure; just trade Drowzee for Machop in Gold, or Abra for Machop in Crystal. When I did attach a Gold Berry, I soloed four times in succession with no other support required (and needed the Gold Berry healing maybe thrice). Gold Berry ultimately makes a big difference, and all you need to do is spam Magnitude. Your biggest threat is scary Clefairy RNG, and even that Gold Berry considerably minimizes; on my 4th try, I took a Bone Club that brought me to the yellow or just near, but healed up, killed Clefairy, and then killed Miltank. A-Tier. Imported Cheese was correct, the Boulder is ready to roll.

Just for kicks, I noticed I was only one level away from L21 (Selfdestruct), so I even tried leveling Geodude up to that point to try and see what it does to Miltank. It seems to fall just short of an OHKO without Pink Bow, and OHKOed with. I did not repeat this simulation too many times, but it is another strategy worth considering if you are okay sacrificing your own Pokemon.

Flaaffy (L20): Outspeeds and reliably 2HKOes Clef with Thunderpunch. Miltank outspeeds you, of course; I made sure to Thunder Wave Miltank first, so I have some insurance against Rollout and flinch hax; Stomp, however, seems to 2HKO with a bit of damage from Clefairy, albeit my Gold Berry thankfully brought me back to full HP again. Thunderpunch, in return, reliably 3HKOes Miltank, but Stomp also reliably 3HKOes you. You need paralysis hax to kill Tank reliably and/or avoid flinches, and Miltank could just flinch you the first time anyway. I actually beat Miltank on two out of four tries - I repeated this fight multiple times due to the modifiers and potential hax involved on either side - but lost the other two times, even with Gold Berry. B-Tier, IMO; Thunder Wave at least softens Miltank up for an ally to kill, and with some extra healing, you can still win IMO.

Rival 3:

The Boulder (L25): Yes, he got overleveled and evolved into Graveler. Haunter still outspeeds, but dies to one Magnitude 6 after Curse, which Haunter likes to start with. Bayleef and Croconaw are a no, Quilava is a yes. You reliably outpace and OHKO Magnemite with Magnitude; reliably outpace Zubat and OHKO with Rock Throw. B-Tier as everyone is fairly beatable and paralysis/flinch hax is not a problem, but at least two starters destroy you one-on-one.

Flaaffy (L22 -> L23 after Haunter): Haunter outpaces but is reliably 2HKOed by Magnet Thunderpunch. You outspeed Magnemite unless you are paralyzed and OHKO with Fire Punch. Bayleef still outspeeds you but dies to 2 Fire Punches and you outspeed Zubat who dies to one Thunderpunch. You can defeat anyone one-on-one but trying to navigate the four by yourself is quite tricky and annoying as Haunter can paralyze you - making you easy bait for Magnemite confusion - and Curse you to compound the annoyance. Razor Leaf 4HKOes you from full HP unless it crits, but as you may be worn down, it may be more of a 2-3HKO. Soloable, you can beat anyone one-on-one and Croconaw Rival is even easier but Quilava Rival tougher, and you may need item support if Haunter paralyzes you (quite possible, but not guaranteed and ultimately less likely than not). A, IMO.

Girafarig (L22 -> L23 after Haunter, Male): You outspeed and reliably 2HKO (almost OHKO, actually) Haunter with Confusion; Haunter usually KOes himself with Curse. Swap out and sack a Mon to bring Girafarig in safely and undo Curse. Outspeed and reliably 2-3HKO (leaning in favor of 2) Magnemite with Pink Bow Strength; Sonicboom only 4HKOes in return. Lol Zubat, either PB Strength or Confusion OHKOes. PB Strength reliably 2HKOes Bayleef unless Reflect is set up (then it 3HKOes); Razor Leaf only 5HKOes in return barring crits. You can beat practically anyone one-on-one most of the time and have a good chance at soloing sans item support even if you never switch out to undo Curse, but better not to risk it. A-Tier.

Morty:

Golem (L25 -> L26 after Gengar / Haunter 2): Gastly outspeeds but dies to Magnitude. Even Magnitude 6 easily 2HKOes Gengar, the rest are OHKOed and any Magnitude above 6 OHKOes anyone, Gengar included. Everyone outspeeds you so it really is a matter of if they can put you to sleep or not; if you hold a Mint Berry, as I did, you can likely easily sweep the entire team by just spamming Magnitude, as I won 5 times in a row (on at least one try, they never even tried to put me to sleep, and even though I got put to sleep on one try even after Mint Berry broke, I woke up and killed the Pokemon, and only got put to sleep once on the other 3 tries IIRC - I definitely did not need any extra items). A-Tier, verging on S. No need to even swap out to undo Curse.

Flaaffy (L25): Gastly outspeeds you but dies to one non-Magnet Thunderpunch (I was holding Mint Berry); Haunters to two, Gengar to three. Swept on try one pretty handily while needing no healing other than Mint Berry, but unlike Golem, you NEED to swap out and undo Curse - which Gastly initiates - here if you want to sweep, and probably may need one Super/Hyper Potion, as I needed precisely that to win on the other two tries. You can beat anyone one-on-one and have a pretty decent chance at sweeping 3/4ths of the team with a Mint Berry and said swap and no other healing support, though. B-Tier.

Girafarig (L24 -> L25 are Gastly): Set up Agility on Gastly (Gastly uses Curse and you outspeed Gastly reliably, so pretty safe; he cannot do anything else to you, really). Confusion OHKOes Gastly with or without Curse damage. Haunter 1 and 2 are similarly OHKOed; Gengar is solidly 2HKOed, but if you have a Mint Berry, they cannot touch you apart from a bit of Curse damage. You outspeed everyone after one Agility. S-Tier IMO, at worst very high A. Utterly destroyed Morty 3 times and only got put to sleep on one try before breaking out with Mint Berry, which honestly is extremely easy and convenient to procure.

Chuck:

Golem (L30): Soft Sand Magnitude 8 (and likely 7) OHKOes Primeape but 6 only 2HKOes and 5 3HKOes; Karate Chop 4HKOes you unless it crits; if it crits even once, it 3HKOes you. Poliwrath OHKOes you with Surf. Everyone outspeeds you. First bad matchup, horrible actually; D-Tier as even Primeape is not a very safe opponent.

Ampharos (L30): Primeape outspeeds you; Magnet Thunderpunch reliably 2HKOes. Even after a Leer, non-crit Karate Chop only 4HKOes, so it is likely your fight to win. You outspeed Poliwrath and reliably 2HKO again; Wrath is just shy of fainting, but Dynamicpunch reliably 2HKOes (provided it hits) even after a Leer (likely), non-crit Karate Chop, or Fury Swipes. Bad AI - Wrath likes to use Mind Reader first - and bad accuracy for Hypnosis and Dynamicpunch, however, mean you can solo the majority of the time. If you use a different held item like Mint Berry or Bitter Berry - Mint Berry being preferred due to sleep being more likely and debilitating - should be a walk in the park. A-Tier.

Edit: I just realized Girafarig was not wearing a Pink Bow at the time. Yikes. Still not a great fight though.

Girafarig (L30): Outspeed everyone. Confusion and PB Strength both reliably 2HKO Ape but only (albeit reliably) 3HKO Wrath. Karate Chop only 4HKOes you unless it crits and Dynamicpunch reliably 2HKOes, even after Leer. Confusion is preferred due to possible Confusion hax. Bitter Berry is the preferred held item as you do not need Normal-type STAB here. A-Tier.

Jasmine:

Girafarig (L30): Outspeed everyone. PB Strength only 3HKOes Magnemites; Parafusion sucks as usual (probably more than as Girafarig is quite frail and takes a lot of confusion damage), and Thunderbolt reliably 2HKOes you. Steelix is a no. D-Tier.

Edit: I just realized Girafarig was not wearing a Pink Bow at the time. Yikes. Still not a great fight though.

Golem (L30 -> L31 after Steelix): Outspeed everyone; Soft Sand Magnitude 6 or above OHKOes Magnemites but even Soft Sand Magnitude only 3HKOes Steelix (Magnitude 9 and 10 2HKO); Iron Tail reliably 2HKOes in return. Even after three Defense Curls, Iron Tail seems to 3HKO you. If you set up 6, however, it only 5HKOes you; albeit setting up in front of Magnemite can be annoying due to you needing some healing for Sonicboom (a 5HKO on you) and/or possibly confusion damage, so at least one Hyper Potion will likely be needed - more probably two. Not an awful matchup, but not a very good and safe one either and you kinda need luck and/or healing to really sweep and an untimely crit still ends you, albeit it is doable. That said, Magnitude spam alone can still solo even without items and/or setup if you roll 9-10 on Steelix consistently and/or if Steelix misses a few Iron Tails. B-Tier, IMO. Jasmine has her own Hyper Potion so not really fair to penalize Golem much for item support. Even Selfdestruct only manages to 3HKO Steelix at best…and you cannot actually use it 3 times.

Ampharos (L30): Outspeed everyone. Fire Punch OHKOes Magnemites and reliably 2HKOes Steelix; Iron Tail only 4HKOes in return. S-Tier, easily.

Pryce:

Golem (L31): Outspeed Seel; Soft Sand Magnitude 7 just comes short of a OHKO (and even 6 2HKOes); Aurora Beam and Icy Wind only 6HKO in return, so an easy win. Outspeed Piloswine unless slowed down by Seel, which never happened to me for some reason. Blizzard 2HKOes reliably, even after you take one Aurora Beam or Icy Wind; however, even SS Magnitude 8 and 9 only 2HKO, while 7 3HKOes. Dewgong outspeeds you and Aurora Beam 2-3HKOes you. Magnitude 6 3HKOes Gong, 7, 8, and 9 2HKO, and 10 OHKOes.

Overall, a very luck-oriented matchup, due to Blizzard’s shaky accuracy, Magnitude variance, and potential speed drops from Seel Icy Wind…but you can beat anyone one-on-one potentially (Seel for sure), likely defeat at least 2 members including the Ace without help, and can sweep with some healing support (should not need more than 2 Hyper Potions).

In fact, you can potentially sweep even without, as I did at least 3 times. That said, I probably died even more times at either Piloswine or Dewgong right after - yes, I repeated this fight several times - so a full, unassisted sweep is risky but only slightly improbable. At any rate, Selfdestruct reliably OHKOes Dewgong and Piloswine, so Golem still essentially soloes more often than not. Pryce’s bad AI on Piloswine and shaky Blizzard accuracy help quite a bit. B-Tier.

Girafarig (L31): Outspeed everyone, even after one Icy Wind speed drop. PB Strength reliably 2HKOes Seel; Icy Wind is only like an 11HKO on you in return. If you are really paranoid, just use Agility and that undoes any speed drops you received, and use it against Seel as he is weak. PB Strength reliably 2-3HKOes Dewgong and Aurora Beam only 4HKOes back. PB Strength reliably 3HKOes Piloswine, but Blizzard 2-3HKOes you back, so you may likely need healing (just one Hyper Potion) to get through Piloswine. That said, Pryce too has a Hyper Potion for Piloswine so no point penalizing Girafarig for it. A-Tier.

Ampharos (L31): Outspeed everyone. Magnet Thunderpunch reliably OHKOes Seel and 2HKOes Dewgong; Aurora Beam from Dewgong only 6HKOes you in return, so not a problem at all. Fire Punch reliably 2HKOes Piloswine, Blizzard only 4HKOes you in return. Ez win. S-Tier.

Rival 4:

Ampharos (L32 -> L33 after Sneasel): Golbat outpaces you and can be annoying with Confuse Ray + Bite, but Magnet Thunderpunch OHKOes. Outpace Magnemite and OHKO with Fire Punch. Haunter outspeeds you but Shadow Ball only 5HKOes while Magnet Thunderpunch reliably 2HKOes. Sneasel outpaces you but Faint Attack only 9-10HKOes while Fire Punch reliably 2HKOes. Meganium outspeeds you but may waste time using Reflect or Poisonpowder and is reliably 2HKOed by Fire Punch while Body Slam only 6HKOes back, albeit paralysis can stink. You can basically decimate anyone one-on-one and even potentially sweep the entire team but likely need some healing on account of Golbat and/or Meganium. B-Tier.

Girafarig (L32 -> L33 after Golbat): Outspeed everyone but Sneasel. Confusion reliably 2HKOes Golbat while Bite only 4HKOes back or so; confusion can suck, be SURE to cure it before moving on. Ditto for Sneasel but Faint Attack instead of Bite and PB Strength instead of Confusion. PB Strength reliably 2HKOes Magnemite but paralysis can be annoying. Meganium Body Slam only 4HKOes you while you 3HKO with PB Strength (and 5HKO if Reflect is used IIRC after one Strength) but paralysis can stink. You probably need at least one Hyper Potion and a couple of Full Heals to make it through safely, but you can beat anyone one-on-one, including the ace potentially, even if the ace can be annoying and tough in their own right. C-Tier.

Golem (L32 -> L33 after Haunter): Everyone outspeeds you but Magnemite. Rock Throw only 2HKOes Golbat while Bite only 8HKOes you in return; Confuse Ray + flinch can stink, of course. Meganium is a no. You outspeed and casually OHKO Magnemite with Magnitude. Haunter only 7-8HKOes you with Shadow Ball and dies to one Magnitude. Faint Attack from Sneasel only 8-9HKOes you while Rock Throw nearly OHKOes. You can beat practically everyone but the starter (and even them if Typhlosion), albeit Golbat can potentially hax you to death or at least soften you up for anyone else. C-Tier.

Clair:

Golem (L41): Yes, I overleveled Golem a tiny bit just to see how Earthquake would fare. Soft Sand Golem speed tied Dragonair and OHKOed each one I hit reliably with SS Earthquake; Ice Beam (D-Air 2) is a 3HKO and Surf (D-Air 1) a 2HKO. With a bit of healing support, you can take out more than one D-Air, and if you keep winning the speed ties, kill every one of them before they hit you. Sadly, Kingdra outpaces and OHKOes with Surf. C-Tier as you fail utterly against the ace, but being able to KO and beat every D-Air 1-on-1 and potentially solo all 3 with a bit of luck and/or healing is amazing.

Ampharos (L40): Headbutt and Magnet Thunderpunch reliably 3HKO all D-Airs, but Headbutt is better as it can cheese with flinch hax, and you outspeed them all too. Kingdra outpaces you; best to paralyze her immediately with Thunder Wave, then wail on her with Magnet Thunderpunches (a reliable 3HKO); D-Airs only 7HKO you with Dragonbreath and at best 6HKO with Ice Beam or Surf. Smokescreen can be a bit annoying but Hyper Beam only 3HKOes and essentially gives you a free turn. You probably need a Hyper Potion or two (or a Hyper Potion and a Parlyz Heal) to clear, and might want to keep one more of either in your pocket just to be safe. By doing just that, I cleared Clair 3 times with no further support needed, but also lost 3 times. Overall, not too bad and you can more or less confidently beat anyone one-on-one, including the Ace, and are fairly likely to even beat 3 D-Airs back to back sans any item support. Thunder Wave, again, can soften Kingdra up for a partner to kill, and Clair too has a Hyper Potion so Amphy should not be penalized too much for (usually) needing just somewhat more item support. B-Tier.

Girafarig (L40): You outspeed everyone. PB Return 2HKOes Dragonairs reliably; in return, D-Airs only 4-5HKO you with elemental moves. Paralysis, of course, sucks, but you can reasonably sweep 2-3 D-Airs by yourself sans items. Kingdra Dragonbreath 3-4HKOes you, Hyper Beam 2HKOes you, and Surf 2-3HKOes you, but PB Return reliably 3HKOes. You probably need 2-3 Hyper Potions and/or a Parlyz Heal, however, but you can beat most anyone 1-on-1, Kingdra included with no more than one Hyper Potion (same as Clair). C-Tier, IMO; Girafarig does more damage to D-Airs but also takes quite a bit more and no more to Kingdra, and does not benefit from flinch/paralysis hax as Ampharos does or reward the team as much.

Rival 5:

Golem (L42 -> L43 after Golbat): Everyone outpaces you but Magneton. Soft Sand Earthquake OHKOes Sneasel who does joke-tier damage with Fury Cutter. Meganium is (mostly) a no; mostly because you can actually (narrowly) survive a non-crit Razor Leaf and achieve a mutual OHKO with Selfdestruct; his poor AI also leads him to use Poisonpowder first at times, making a Meganium kill even easier. EQ OHKOes Magneton, Kadabra, and Haunter; Kadabra likes to use Future Sight which does 3HKO amounts of damage or just under, but it takes time to prep. Rock Throw 2HKOes Golbat; Bite is like a 9-10HKO in return, but confusion, flinching, and confusion + flinching are annoying and can wear you down. Earthquake OHKOes Haunter who likes to first use Curse. You cannot fully sweep, but you can very likely destroy anyone one-on-one sans item support (and practically solo if not for Meganium and Reflect shenanigans that beef up the rest of the team) and even have fair odds of mutually killing Meganium, however. B-Tier, IMO.

Girafarig (L42 -> L43 after Kadabra): Outpace everyone. Sneasel is OHKOed by PB Return and Golbat and Haunter by Psybeam (actually, 2-OHKOed for Golbat). Silver may withdraw Sneasel in favor of Magneton, however, who is only 3HKOed by Pink Bow Return; Thundershock is a 5-6HKO in return roughly, albeit Thunder Wave paralysis can suck. Future Sight only 4HKOes you, but Kadabra dies to one PB Return; Meganium to two; Body Slam 4-5HKOes back and can paralyze, however. Apart from needing a Hyper Potion and/or Parlyz Heal for Magneton and maybe Meganium, this is yours to lose. You can take anyone one-on-one and even nearly sweep the entire team if not for Magneton, whom you can beat one-on-one. B-Tier.

Ampharos (L42 -> L43 after Kadabra): Sneasel outspeeds but does pathetic damage with Fury Cutter and is OHKOed by Fire Punch. Outspeed and OHKO Magneton with Fire Punch. Haunter outspeeds you but mainly uses Curse and dies to one Magnet Thunderpunch immediately after and even without taking Curse damage. Kadabra outspeeds you and uses Future Sight but is O-2HKOed by Magnet Thunderpunch. Swap out to undo Curse and/or Future Sight, but you probably will not need to (I did not need to on at least 3 tries, but that combined with potential paralysis hax from Meganium can be a potential problem). Outpace Meganium and 2HKO with Fire Punch; Body Slam 6HKOes back. Speed tie Golbat and OHKO with Magnet Thunderpunch while tanking Bite. A-Tier.

Will:

Golem (L42): Xatu outspeeds you but Psychic 3HKOes you while Rock Throw 2HKOes back for both Xatus; potential confusion hax can suck. You outspeed Exeggutor but Rock Throw only 4HKOes while Psychic reliably 2HKOes; alternatively, you can OHKO with Selfdestruct but you faint too. Jynx outspeeds you and just falls short of a OHKO with Ice Punch or 2-3HKOes with Psychic while Soft Sand EQ reliably OHKOes back; Lovely Kiss can suck, of course, but it can also miss, so you CAN beat Jynx one-on-one, albeit not particularly reliably. You outpace Slowbro who 3HKOes with Psychic and Earthquake reliably 3HKOes through even Curse(s), provided he sets up 2 after you hit him with your first EQ and not before. You can beat everyone (kinda beat in the case of Exeggutor) but cannot sweep more than maybe 2 mons in succession sans a Max Potion or so - if that, due to how annoying Confuse Ray is - and all of the members are dangerous on their own apart from Slowbro, and crits from Jynx and Exeggutor kill you dead. D-Tier, but high end.

Ampharos (L42 -> L43 after Jynx): Everyone outpaces you but Slowbro and Exeggutor. Psychic from Xatu only 3-4HKOes. Magnet Thunderpunch OHKOes Xatus cleanly and only narrowly misses an OHKO on Slowbro. Beware of Confuse Ray. Fire Punch reliably 2HKOes Jynx and Exeggutor, but those two 3HKO you back (2HKO for Exeggutor, actually) with Psychic - their bad AI causes them to use Doubleslap and Leech Seed respectively, buying you time. You probably need one Full Restore (or probably even just Max/Hyper Potion, if Lovely Kiss/Confuse Ray fails and/or is not used at all) to safely get through, but no more usually. B-Tier, almost an A.

Girafarig (L43 -> L44 after Jynx): Outspeed everyone; PB Return 2HKOes Xatu; Psychic only 5HKOes you back, but Confuse Ray sucks ofc. Jynx is OHKOed. Exeggutor is 2HKOed but Psychic 4HKOes back. PB Return reliably 3HKOes Slowbro who pointlessly spams Amnesia. Apart from a Full Heal or one Max Potion, you are unlikely to need any items whatsoever, unless Exeggutor sets up Reflect successfully and/or Slowbro paralyzes you with Body Slam, admittedly, but these are both unlikely individually; do make sure to heal Girafarig if your HP is lower-end yellow or red and you are up against Xatu, as otherwise Quick Attack can revenge-kill you. A-Tier, amazingly.

Koga:

Girafarig (L44 -> L45 after Crobat): Kind of overleveled, but still. Outspeed and OHKO Ariados with Psybeam; set up one Agility here so you can outpace Crobat, everyone else you outpace normally. Ariados is a safe target and his only potential annoyance is Double Team, not likely enough to protect him, let alone BP it. Return 6HKOes Forretress and Psybeam seems to 5HKO but you die to Explosion (which bizarrely was not used on any one of 3 total tries) and/or get whittled down by Swift in that same time to red; winnable one-on-one, but very risky and not worth it. Crobat outpaces you and can be annoying with Toxic and/or Double Team - Wing Attack 3-4HKOes - but dies to two Psybeams. Venomoth is solidly 2HKOed by Psybeam, as is Muk. You probably need no more than a Max Potion here, not even a Full Restore, Forretress aside (and possibly even included), if even that. B-Tier, even accounting for the level surge.

Golem (L42 -> L43 after Venomoth): Golem outpaces and reliably 2HKOes Ariados with SS Earthquake; Giga Drain is unlikely to be used until Spider Web and/or Double Team already has been, but reliably 2HKOes back. Outpace and reliably 3HKO Forretress with Earthquake. Outpace Muk and OHKO with SS EQ. Venomoth outspeeds you but Psychic only 3-4HKOes while EQ reliably 2HKOes back. Crobat outspeeds but is reliably 2HKOed by Rock Throw; Double Team shenanigans coupled with slightly iffy accuracy can make things a bit annoying, though. You may need a Max Potion, but unlikely to need more and I did not need one in spite of multiple successive tries (5) except twice. A-Tier.

Ampharos (L42 -> L43 after Forretress): Outpace Ariados and reliably 2-OHKO with Fire Punch. Lol Forretress. Venomoth outpaces you but only 5-6HKOes with Psychic while Fire Punch reliably 2HKOes back; Supersonic/Toxic can be a bit annoying, however. Outpace Muk and reliably 3HKO with Magnet Thunderpunch but Sludge Bomb reliably 3HKOes back. Crobat outpaces you and can be annoying but is O-2HKOed by Magnet Thunderpunch. A-Tier as you may need one Max/Hyper Potion (probably not more than that though) but otherwise win handily and often.

Bruno:

Golem (L43): Hitmontop outpaces you, but that is a good thing; he uses Dig first, at which point SS EQ OHKOes (and 2HKOes otherwise). You can and should use Defense Curl to bulk up to +6 for the remaining fighters - you may need a Max Potion here if Top crits you, but Dig does pathetic damage even at +1. Hitmonlee outpaces you but does peanuts with Double Kick and is OHKOed by SS EQ. Hitmonchan outpaces you but only 3-4HKOes you with Ice Punch; EQ reliably 2HKOes back. You outpace Machamp and reliably 2HKO with SS EQ; Cross Chop only 4HKOes you at +6 unless it crits, at which time it OHKOes you. Onix outpaces you but does peanuts with EQ; you OHKO with yours. You can solo basically but need one Max Potion (may want two just to be safe) at least and a potential Cross Chop crit ends your career. A-Tier, still; Selfdestruct can OHKO Machamp, if nothing else.

If you do not set up Defense Curl, Hitmonlee only 3HKOes you with Double Kick and you CAN live one non-crit Cross Chop from Machamp (but barely).

Ampharos (L42): Outspeed everyone but Hitmonlee; Magnet Thunderpunch reliably 2-3HKOes Hitmontop; Hitmontop Dig only 3-4HKOes. Onix is 3-4HKOed by Fire Punch but 3HKOes you back with Earthquake and wins if you have taken any damage from Top or if Onix sets up Sandstorm. Hitmonchan only 5-6HKOes with Mach Punch; you 2-3HKO with Magnet Thunderpunch. Hitmonlee 3HKOes with Hi Jump Kick and is only 2-3HKOed by Magnet Thunderpunch. You outpace Machamp but only 3HKO with Magnet Thunderpunch; Cross Chop reliably 2HKOes back even on non-crits. Ultimately, you have a hard time beating even two individual members and Machamp certainly beats you more often than not, and even the non-Chan Hitmons can wear you down a fair bit. D-Tier. Probably Amphy’s first (and last) bad matchup ever.

Girafarig (L44 -> L45 after Hitmonlee): Outpace everyone but Mach Punch Chan. Reliably 2HKO Top with Psybeam or PB Return; ditto for Onix but Psybeam only. Outpace Hitmonlee and reliably OHKO with PB Return. You can live a non-crit Cross Chop from Machamp from full HP (assuming no Sandstorm), if barely, and reliably 2HKO Champ with Psybeam. Hitmonchan outpaces you and 3HKOes with Mach Punch, but Psybeam and PB Return 2HKO back. Probably cannot sweep (at least not itemless), but you can sweep multiple members in succession and beat any member one-on-one, albeit Machamp can be a bit scary due to high crit Cross Chop. A-Tier.

Karen:

Girafarig (L45): Reliably outspeeds everyone; PB Return 3HKOes Umbreon, but Sand-Attack and/or Confuse Ray can be annoying; make sure to heal immediately with Full Heal when confused. Faint Attack 3HKOes in return. OHKOes Murkrow with PB Return but are 2HKOed by Faint Attack; make sure to switch out after beating Umbreon to reset accuracy. Outspeeds Houndoom and 2HKOes with PB Return but are O-2HKOed by Crunch; you MAY be able to survive (barely) and win by landing two Returns one-on-one from full HP, but that is it. 2HKO Vileplume with Psybeam; Petal Dance is a 3-4HKO back on you. Outspeed Gengar and OHKO with Psybeam (accounting for Curse). You can beat anyone one-on-one reliably but Houndoom without more than a Full Heal, and can potentially beat him too with a bit of luck provided you are at full HP. B-Tier.

Golem (L43 -> L44 after Houndoom): Umbreon outpaces you and can be nasty with Sand-Attack + Confuse Ray spam; on the other hand, SS EQ 2-3HKOes back; Faint Attack only 5-6HKOes; Selfdestruct is actually a bad idea here as Sand-Attack can make it miss entirely and just kill you instead. Swap out before fighting anyone else. You outpace Vileplume and reliably 2HKO with EQ or OHKO with Selfdestruct (but faint too) but are OHKOed by Petal Dance. Gengar outpaces you but likes to Curse/Lick you (strangely no Destiny Bond) and dies to one EQ. Houndoom normally outspeeds you and 2HKOes with Crunch but EQ OHKOes back; bad AI means the doggy may even try to use Roar instead and go AFTER you, making it easier to kill her. Murkrow outpaces you but is OHKOed by Rock Throw and only 4HKOes with Faint Attack. You can beat everyone one-on-one but Vileplume, but you are not sweeping multiple members unless it is Roar Doggy and Murkrow, admittedly, consecutively. C-Tier, lower end.

Ampharos (L43 -> L44 after Vileplume): Reliably outpace Umbreon and 3HKO with Magnet Thunderpunch; cure confusion using a Full Heal. Outpace Vileplume; Petal Dance 4HKOes you in return, but Fire Punch 2-3HKOes; Stun Spore is, as usual, awful, and she will try to land it on you. Gengar outpaces you but Magnet Thunderpunch OHKOes Gengar if he Curses (he likely will). You cannot beat Houndoom one-on-one without Thunder Wave + Full Restore/Hyper Potion cheese, let alone with prior damage or status and/or Curse active; he outpaces you and is only 3HKOed by Magnet Thunderpunch and Flamethrower 3HKOes you too. Murkrow outpaces you but Faint Attack is a 5HKO and you OHKO with Magnet Thunderpunch. You can beat anyone one-on-one but sweeping is nigh impossible and you probably need a significant amount of healing support - Full Heal for Umbreon, Parlyz Heal for Vileplume, and a Full Restore or two to cheese Houndoom. C-Tier, very rough matchup.

Lance:

Golem (L43 -> L44 after Charizard): Everyone outspeeds you. Gyarados is a no, he outspeeds you and OHKOes with Surf. Thunder Dragonite with Twister only 4HKOes you but can still kill you with flinch hax; Rock Throw only 3HKOes in return, sadly. Blizzard D-Nite OHKOes you if Blizzard lands, so a no. Charizard only 3-4HKOes you with Flamethrower, thankfully, and Rock Throw reliably OHKOes back. Dragonite 3 2HKOes you with Outrage and is only 3HKOed by Rock Throw, so a no. Rock Throw 2HKOes Aerodactyl while Hyper Beam only 7HKOes and Ancientpower does even worse, so you win there. Ergo, you can only beat 3 mons and lose to the other 3, and you likely are not sweeping. C-Tier, and you may still want a Max Potion (albeit just for Thunder/Twister Dragonite, you can only probably figure out which one that is based on who you used to KO Lance’s previous Pokemon - for me, it was Ampharos) if you want to become the Champion. Okay, maybe just one; superior speed and flinch hax and 4HKO power individually are not that big a deal, but can be quite annoying/scary together.

Girafarig (L45 -> L46 after D-Nite 2): PB Return reliably 2HKOes Gyarados; Hyper Beam 2HKOes in return too, and Gyara likes to use Rain Dance first for whatever reason even if he does not use Surf after, so actually kind of a free kill for you. You 3HKO every D-Nite with PB Return; in return (lol), Thunder/Blizzard only 3HKOes and Fire Blast/Outrage 2HKOes, but beware of even being close to yellow HP as Hyper Beam from the D-Nites will destroy you then (you can survive a Hyper Beam from Aerodactyl though, if barely). You outpace everyone but Aerodactyl, who 3HKOes with Ancientpower; Psybeam only 3HKOes in return, making it inefficient. Charizard is 2HKOed by PB Return but 2HKOes back with Flamethrower. Actually not too bad, but your lack of offensive power and staying power shows here against the 3 D-Nites and Aerodactyl, and you need to spam Full Restores like a real Champion of the Pokemon League to get past D-Nites, even 1 D-Nite probably. D-Tier, his second bad matchup.

Ampharos (L44 -> L45 after D-Nite 1 -> L46 after Charizard): Gyarados outpaces but likes to waste his turn using Rain Dance; Thunderpunch, of course, OHKOes. D-Nites outpace you; Hyper Beam 2HKOes you while Magnet Thunderpunch reliably 3HKOes. Strongly recommend using Thunder Wave on L47 D-Nites to prevent Twister flinch hax and even worse, Twister + Thunder Wave hax. Outrage 3HKOes you, as does Blizzard and Fire Blast; Twister only 6HKOes you but flinches and parahax make it a lot scarier. You can beat Gyara and D-Nite 1 with just one Max Potion / Full Restore, but you will need a Full Restore or second Full Restore to clear D-Nite 2. Do not even bother trying Thunder Wave on D-Nite 3 as he has Safeguard - prepare to use another Full Restore here, maybe even two. Aerodactyl outpaces you but Hyper Beam only 3HKOes while Magnet Thunderpunch OHKOes back; Charizard outpaces you but Flamethrower 3HKOes while Magnet Thunderpunch OHKOes back. Like Golem, you can defeat 3 members one-on-one. Unlike Golem, you likely do not need healing on-on-one against any of those 3. Unlike Golem, you actually have a fighting chance against at least the two L47 D-Nites one-on-one, albeit you need a Full Restore to safely navigate any one (two are needed for L50 D-Nite). Thunder Wave cheese + Full Restore healing allows Ampharos to put up a…B.

Golem:

S: Bugsy (5)
A: Falkner, Whitney, Morty, Koga, Bruno (20)
B: Rival 3, Jasmine, Pryce, Rival 5 (12)
C: Rival 2, Rival 4, Clair, Karen, Lance (10)
D: Chuck, Will (2)
E: N/A

Total fights: 17

Rating: 2.88 (Low B-Tier, IMO; can see a high C, but seems to be more B than C).

Ampharos:

S: Jasmine, Pryce (10)
A: Bugsy, Rival 3, Chuck, Rival 5, Koga (20)
B: Rival 2, Whitney, Morty, Rival 4, Clair, Will, Lance (21)
C: Karen (2)
D: Bruno (1)
E: N/A

Total fights: 16

Rating: 3.375 (Solid B-Tier).

Girafarig:

S: Morty (5)
A: Rival 3, Chuck, Pryce, Will, Bruno (15)
B: Rival 5, Koga, Karen (9)
C: Rival 4, Clair (4)
D: Jasmine, Lance (2)
E: N/A

Total fights: 12

Rating: 2.92 (Low B-Tier, IMO; can see a high C, but seems to be more B than C).

Tauros (currently B-Tier in Tier List MKV): 3.18
Feraligatr (currently A-Tier in Tier List MKV): 3.28
Meganium (currently C-Tier in Tier List MKV): 2.29
Butterfree (currently D-Tier in Tier List MKV): 2.94, a blatant overestimate on my part so take it with a grain of salt

Nominate Girafarig and Golem for B-Tier and Ampharos for A-Tier. Golem and Girafarig are closer to Feraligatr, let alone Tauros, in terms of performance than to Meganium; in addition, they IMO should be weighed higher given the fact they are there for more boss battles than Friend Ball Tauros ever will be, way more in Golem's case; Tauros misses the first 4 gym battles entirely while Golem is around for all 4 and Girafarig participates in at least one.

Next, I plan to test Machamp (Goldenrod Trade), Espeon, and Starmie.
 
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My tests are complete!

Muhchop (L20): Outspeed Clefairy and 2HKO at worst with Karate Chop or Low Kick; Miltank outpaces you, but Rollout only 4HKOes even after light Clefairy damage while Low Kick 3HKOes back reliably and either Low Kick or Karate Chop 3HKOes back at worst and bad AI causes her to consistently select Rollout instead of the far more effective Stomp*. While LK is usually more than enough to take out her entire team on successive tries, Karate Chop is 100% accurate (instead of 95%) and can crit 25% of the time, allowing you to win even more reliably. You can tank 3 successive Rollouts and not even fall into the yellow, let alone need Gold Berry.

No matter how many times I fought Whitney, I always, always won (and I attempted fighting her at least 7 times, and only fell into the yellow/red twice due to crits from Rollout; still killed Miltank and did not need/trigger Gold Berry healing). Insanely good and easy matchup. S-Tier.

*At least in Gold. At least, it is what transpired on 3+ successive tries; not even once Stomp was used.

Eevee: Perfect DVs (15) in all but Defense (12), unfortunately shared with Dragon and Dark.

The following table contains the highest DVs possible to achieve a certain Hidden Power type. All combos will yield 70 base damage when used with Speed and Special DVs of 8-15.

Psychic
15
12


Dark
15
15


Fire
14
12


Electric
14
15
Grass
14
14
Water
14
13


Dark 70 Eevee: Attack -> 33 (15 DVs), Defense -> 31 (15 DVs)

My Eevee had 70 starting happiness, being a new member. I taught Eevee two TMs (Hidden Power - you can teach Return instead - and Headbutt), bringing Eevee up to 72. I leveled up twice, giving me a total of 10 happiness points (you go up by +5 in happiness each time you level up if you are in the 0-99 happiness range). Then I bought 114 X Items and used 2 I already had on hand from the overworld; X Speed/Special is relatively cheap by being only $350. Then, I fought L10 Magikarp and spammed the 116 X Items until I ran out - yes, X Items boost your happiness EVEN if your stats cannot be raised further, but only if you are below 200 happiness.
Needless to say, I also did a fair amount (but not a crazy amount) of trekking in or around Ecruteak (you can get a free hidden Nugget; literally around the middle of the Miltank enclosure on the outside; very useful to sell for money for X-Items), Goldenrod, and Violet on my Bicycle - I needed to go to Violet to get Old Rod (found on Route 32; did not initially have it). I should note that walking 512 steps by itself generates +1 happiness for your entire team regardless of your happiness level, so just by walking/cycling around a fair bit, you can easily make Eevee a lot happier. The Old Rod is for fishing up L10 Magikarp, ergo, easy X Item setup and spam fodder.

Before the X Item spam festa against L10 Magikarp, I made sure to only level up Eevee twice. After beating up a couple of Magikarp and spamming 116 X Items on Eevee, I made a beeline back for Goldenrod and decided to check on my happiness. My Eevee was already at the 200+ range (basically the ‘’really trusts you’’ range, very close to Espeon/Umbreon).

I should note that walking 512 steps by itself generates +1 happiness for your entire team regardless of your happiness level, so just by walking/cycling around a fair bit, you can easily make Eevee a lot happier. I should also note that I did NOT even fight the Rival, Kimono Girls, or Morty yet, so I still had a LOT more money to gain.

Financially, I should note that I have not done anything more than selling some expensive medicine I found in the over-world, TMs like Mud-Slap and Fury Cutter I legitimately did not need, a Nugget, my Poke Ball collection (almost entirely from the over-world), and a Revive. I had a total of $40,736 and at the end of it, $836. As for items, I still had every status cure item I picked up originally, a Rare Candy, a Gold Berry (yep), and a couple of Super Potions, so you can clearly have a fair medicine cabinet while spending a lot on X-Items for Eevee. Overall, a considerable expenditure to be sure, but I was able to get up to $1400 after beating up a few trainers without using Eevee (deliberately, I wanted to get Espeon ASAP but avoid overleveling).

Financially, I should note that I have not done anything more than selling some expensive medicine I found in the over-world, TMs like Mud-Slap and Fury Cutter I legitimately did not need, a Nugget, my Poke Ball collection (almost entirely from the over-world), and a Revive. I had a total of $40,736 and at the end of it, $836. Overall, a considerable expenditure to be sure, but I was able to get up to at least $1400 after beating up a few trainers without using Eevee, then $12,032 by selling a few more overworld items I got (TMs for Roar and Rollout, items bought by Mom not called Super Potions, and a Burn Heal and Ultra Ball from the Goldenrod Basement) and finally beating the Kimono Girls. Overall, it is not a crazy one. so I would personally not be terrified. Getting money is not so difficult at this point in the game, albeit you may want to go to the Lake of Rage and Mt. Mortar earlier to get items to sell.

As my Eevee was at least at 200 happiness and L22, I decided to get a haircut and a vitamin before leveling up 3-4 times. I leveled up twice to L24 against the Kimono Girls, bringing me from 200+ to 204+ (a +2 boost 2 times at 200+ happiness). I figured I would try my luck adding a vitamin (+2), a haircut (at least +1 depending on message), and leveling up one more time (+2), as well as some miscellaneous traveling before, during, and after would get me to evolve at L25 or L26. I had more than enough to buy a Vitamin now, so I did. I gave Eevee my Carbos, then soft-reset in front of the younger Haircut brother until I got a +4 boost to Happiness (‘’EEVEE looks delighted’’). It happened fairly quickly, albeit it has a 10% appearance rate.

Just to check (and nothing more), leveled up twice in the grass to L26…and Eevee evolved!!!! Satisfied, I soft reset so I could keep my Eevee at L24 so I can fight the Rival in a relatively balanced way. As his ace is L22, I did not want to be 4 levels ahead (or even 3, tbh).

I then decided to fight the Rival.

Rival 3:

Eevee (L24 -> L25 after Zubat): Still a bit overleveled, but not too much hopefully. Haunter outspeeds but Curses; you cannot even touch him unless you have Mud-Slap or SE Hidden Power (which should 2-OHKO back after or accounting for Curse). Switch out to undo Curse. Outspeed Magnemite; PB Headbutt cleanly 3HKOes Magnemite while Sonicboom only 4HKOes back; being faster, you can flinch Magnemite and basically stomp him in spite of being resisted type-wise. Outspeed Zubat and PB Headbutt reliably OHKOes. Outpace Croconaw, PB Headbutt 3HKOes while Water Gun only 7HKOes back. Pretty dang good as you can practically and fairly reliably beat everyone one-on-one including the Ace, but you definitely need a competitive ™ in Hidden Power/Mud-Slap to beat Haunter and potential confusion/paralysis hax can be a problem, and being a bit overleveled makes me hesitate to give Eevee an A. B-Tier.

And no, Eevee did not evolve into Espeon after beating Rival. Gotta grind up one more level!

Lambchop (L22 -> L23 after Haunter): Haunter outspeeds but Curses or Licks (only does 6 HP of damage or so); Dig reliably 2HKOes back if Curse is not used or OHKOes if it is, but paralysis hax can suck - especially if it stacks with Curse. Zubat outpaces and can be really annoying with Confuse Ray and 2HKO reliably with Headbutt, PB or otherwise. Bite only does like 6 HP to you, but flinch + confusion sucks. Croconaw outpaces but only 4-5HKOes back with Water Gun while Black Belt Karate Chop 4HKOes back but 3HKOes if it crits even once. Outspeed and OHKO Magnemite. Ultimately, every single member but one is a threat to you, and you need Dig - a competitive ™ - to even touch Haunter. Like with Eevee, you need to swap out to undo Curse after defeating Haunter and need a Super Potion. Low D-Tier.

Starmie (L22 -> L23 after Haunter/Croconaw): Her first battle! Outspeed and 4HKO Croconaw with Surf (Silver actually withdraws Haunter immediately on some tries, not all though), but Bite 4HKOes back too. Outspeed and reliably OHKO Magnemite and Zubat with Surf. Outpaced Haunter and BARELY missed a OHKO on Haunter with Surf…and he finished himself off using Curse regardless. A-Tier; can be lost if Croconaw crits with Bite and/or Haunter paralyzes you and you will be in the yellow for the rest of the fight. If Haunter does Curse you and there are more Pokemon to fight - namely, Croconaw - you should swap out to undo Curse. Usually, he goes Haunter -> Magnemite -> Croconaw -> Zubat, and more rarely, he goes Croconaw -> Magnemite -> Haunter -> Zubat. You do a lot worse against Bayleef and a lot better against Quilava, but overall, it is your battle to lose.
Morty:

Espeon (L26 -> L27 after Gengar): Just needed to grind up Eevee to L26 before he finally evolved into Espeon. Espeon outpaces and OHKOes everyone with HP 70 Dark; everyone but Gengar, who is reliably 2HKOed and likes to use Mean Look or Hypnosis + Dream Eater (for little damage and insufficient to save Gengar) instead of Shadow Ball. If you wear a Mint Berry, you pretty much roll him over. The terrifying part? I NEVER needed a Mint Berry on any attempt (I fought him 4 times consecutively). Normally, this should be good enough for S. That being said, softresetting for HP 70 Dark and the sheer investment needed to get happy enough and become an Espeon makes me demote Espeon by two full tiers - either one alone IMO is enough to preclude a S, much less both. B it is. The performance is still solid enough to justify the investment and a little too good for C, IMO, and the softresetting for the Haircut guy and HP Dark are no more problematic IMO than softresetting until you find, weaken, and successfully Friend Ball Tauros (the financial aspect also is arguably not a big deal as you recoup a good amount of money quite quickly even before this fight and will continue to do so if you play normally). Bear in mind I had a hard time catching even a red HP sleeping Tauros, yet I only brought him down by one tier for Return-based performances.

Porkchop (L25 -> L26 after Haunter): Everyone outspeeds you. Gastly Curses you but dies to Dig after. Haunter is reliably OHKOed but may try to Lick you and paralyze you or Hypnotize you. Swap out to undo Curse once Gengar comes in. You can actually beat Gengar one-on-one; Dig reliably 2HKOes, provided Hypnosis misses each time it is used and/or is not used twice. Night Shade only 3-4HKOes you so you can 2HKO the final Haunter with Dig. I beat him on try 1 with no more than one Super Potion (used against Haunter 2) and a held Mint Berry. Second try? Just a Mint Berry. 3rd try? A Mint Berry and a Super Potion. 4th try? A Mint Berry and a Super Potion (against Gengar this time, as Haunter 1 landed a Night Shade on me before going down). 5th try? A Mint Berry, but no more. 6th try? Actually made it to Gengar again but three Shadow Balls (one being a crit) killed me by damaging me more than two Super Potions could heal. 7th try?A Mint Berry and a Super Potion; interestingly, Haunter managed to cut my Dig PP to 0, forcing me to heal up and then use Foresight + Karate Chop (lol) to win.

Against all logic, if you hold a Mint Berry, Machop CAN do really well in this fight. The catch? You NEED Dig if you want a reliable performance, and even then, probably need some healing to guarantee the victory. Overall, not a bad fight, and I would say B-Tier normally, but C-Tier due to Dig dependence.

Starmie (L25): You outspeed everyone. Surf reliably OHKOes Gastly and Haunter 1, reliably 2HKOes Gengar (who seems allergic to using Shadow Ball and prefers Hypnosis/Destiny Bond instead; tbf, Haunter 2 can be similar), and narrowly misses a OHKO on Haunter 2. Night Shade only 4HKOes you in return, and the only item you ever need is a Mint Berry; I only needed one like on 2/4 tries, maybe ¾, but that is all I needed. S-Tier, disgustingly easy. HP never even fell to the yellow, let alone red, and in some cases I lost zero HP at all.

After the fight, I had $11553. Money, not a problem.

Chuck:

Espeon (L30): Espeon outspeeds everyone. PB Headbutt reliably 3HKOes Primeape, as does 2 PB Headbutts and one PB Quick Attack. Rage is only a 15HKO, Karate Chop is only a 9HKO (barring crits), and even a 5 hit Fury Swipes (no crits) only 3HKOes at best. Primeape usually wastes time using Leer. Poliwrath only 4HKOes with Surf or 3HKOes with Dynamicpunch after Leer (not counting confusion) from full HP, but you 5HKO with PB Headbutt (as does 4 PB Headbutts and one Quick Attack, I believe); high flinch rates tilt the fight very much in your favor, and Hypnosis is fairly inaccurate too.

Beat Poliwrath on two tries itemless (even breaking out of sleep on try 1), albeit l needed a Super Potion on try 3. Seems like a fairly solid matchup, but not perfect. B-Tier it is. I tried a few other times too and sometimes I needed no items whatsoever, but about as often I did need one item (or two or - albeit rarely - three, be it Super Potions or Full Heals or one of both; Chuck also uses Full Heal if you status him, so I will not count item reliance heavily against Espeon).

Tried again with PB Return, due to the happiness of Espeon. PB Return reliably 2HKOes Primeape. PB Return 4HKOes Wrath reliably, as does 3 PB Returns and one Quick Attack. Ultimately, the matchup does not really change; Return has a fair bit more power, but the lack of flinches seems to kinda counterbalance it. Decent, but still B-material. Pretty close though.

Definitely kinda RNG dependent.

Starmie (L30): Outspeed everyone. Set up Rain Dance on Primeape. Mystic Water Rain Surf OHKOes Primeape reliably. Primeape usually wastes time using Leer. Non-crit Karate Chop only 6-7HKOes you. Mystic Water Rain Surf 3-4HKOes (3HKO more often on) Poliwrath. Dynamicpunch only 4HKOes you even after Leer and Wrath Surf only 5HKOes you back. Destroyed Chuck on 3/3 tries and even beat confusion AND sleep on my third try with a couple of uses of Recover; no item use needed. At BEST, you need one Full Heal, and even then I managed to beat Chuck every time without needing one, even when I was statused (apart from one time I deliberately sandbagged just so I could gauge enemy damage). Of course, Chuck has a Full Heal too. Out of 7-8 tries, I only needed a Full Heal like thrice…the same item Chuck also has? Multiple times over, my HP never even fell to yellow. A-Tier. A bit RNG dependent but you win the vast majority of the time.

Muhchamp (L30 -> L31 after Primeape): Everyone outspeeds you. Primeape outpaces but usually wastes time using Leer. Muscle Band non-crit Karate Chop reliably 2HKOes Primeape, as does PB Strength. Non-crit Karate Chop from Ape 6HKOes you in return from full HP and stats, but 5HKOes after Leer and 3HKOes if crits once. Muscle Band non-crit Karate Chop reliably 3HKOes Wrath (as does PB Strength), Dynamicpunch reliably 2HKOes you after a Primeape Leer; if not, 3HKOes. Hypnosis sucks. Primeape alone can be surprisingly scary given his superior speed, and Poliwrath usually beats you if you do not use an Awakening or Full Heal, and his superior speed allows you to Mind Reader + status/Dynamicpunch you easily and safely. You CAN sweep - I did sweep on a few multiple tries, even itemless, albeit a clear minority (and have somewhat better odds one-on-one as Primeape or Poliwrath cannot take advantage of each other), but it is a little dangerous. RNG is a big deal here. B-Tier.

Jasmine:

Espeon (L30): Rough matchup. You outpace everyone, but even HP Dark/Bite 3-4HKOes (HP Dark leans in favor of a 3HKO; Bite is probably a clean 4HKO, albeit the flinch rate may compensate for the power differential) Magnemite at best; PB Return reliably 4HKOes. Thunderbolt reliably 3HKOes you back, and confusion and paralysis stink as ever, especially if combined. The Magnemites alone are a problem, and even one can potentially kill you if you do not use a Full Heal (you may need two, in fact). Steelix is a no; HP Dark seems to maybe 6HKO it at best, while Iron Tail reliably 3HKOes you back. D-Tier, you can get through the Magnemites but may need one-two status items there alone, and you simply cannot beat the Ace.

Starmie (L30): Mystic Water Surf (no need for Rain) GG. Outspeed everyone, OHKO everyone (okay, Steelix CAN narrowly survive more often than not, but is reliably 2-3HKOed even under Sunny Day). Iron Tail is like a 3-4HKO on you back and you can easily troll it with Recover, made easier by its somewhat iffy accuracy. You can also just undo Sunny Day with Rain Dance and OHKO Steelix with Surf. Joke tier matchup, S-Tier.

Pogchamp (L30 -> L31 after Magnemite 1, also L34): Reliably outpace everyone; Blackbelt Karate Chop reliably OHKOes Magnemites even barring crits. Non-crit Karate Chop is sadly quite weak, only 4HKOing (3HKOing if it crits). Iron Tail, in return, 2-3HKOes back (seems to 2HKO a lot, actually), and Iron Tail defense drops are scary. As weird as it sounds, Machamp actually LOSES in this gym to the ace. C-Tier…or is it?

I tried again by leveling Machamp up to L34, as he has Vital Throw there and having Machamp at that level before Jasmine is completely possible (for instance, if you go Pryce -> Chuck -> Jasmine and maybe feed him a Rare Candy). Black Belt Vital Throw, thankfully, DOES 2-3HKO Steelix reliably and Iron Tail now only 3HKOes you reliably. Weird, but Machamp does do a lot better than believed…unfortunately, Iron Tail defense drops (or one untimely crit accompanying a normal hit) can potentially 2HKO you. At best, you need a Hyper Potion…just like Jasmine herself.

Ultimately, A-tier. You can technically beat Jasmine even underleveled further (and I did) with some critical hit luck, just not as often as you lose. But with Vital Throw and equal item usage, you should win more often than not.

Pryce:

Espeon (L31): Espeon reliably outspeeds and reliably 2HKOes Seel with PB Return, even after Icy Wind speed drop; Icy Wind only 16-17HKOes, a joke. PB Espeon reliably outspeeds and 3HKOes Dewgong with PB Return; Aurora Beam only 5-6HKOes back, and his tendency to use Rest makes it easier to kill him. Outspeeds and 2-3HKOes (2HKO more likely) Piloswine with Iron Tail or 3-4HKOes (3HKO far more likely) with PB Return; Blizzard only 3-4HKOes (closer to 3HKO) and 5-hit Fury Attack 4HKOes (assuming no crits) back. Can clear pretty reliably but very likely need a Hyper Potion around Piloswine (like Pryce himself). A-Tier. Freeze hax can get you - it got me multiple times - but poor AI (Mist?) can help win you the fight. You should win solidly more often than not, just make sure to heal if you fall into yellow for Swine.

Starmie (L31): Outspeed everyone, even after one Icy Wind. Set up Rain Dance on Seel; Icy Wind is virtually a 30HKO on you while Headbutt is like an 11HKO. MW Surf reliably 2HKOes Seel and 3HKOes Dewgong under Rain and OHKOes Piloswine even sans Rain. Dewgong 7HKOes you with Headbutt and even if he Rests, Rest turns can easily be exploited to Rain + Surf again. Do set Rain up ASAP if it fades (it should before you KO Dewgong) so you can continue to 3HKO Dewgong instead of risking a 4HKO and allowing Dewgong to Rest you up. Blizzard only 5HKOes you from Swine and 5-hit Fury Attack only 4-5HKOes. Ez ez, S-Tier.

Machamp (L31 -> L32 after Dewgong): Black Belt Machamp outspeeds Seel (but only before Icy Wind) and reliably 2HKOes Seel with Black Belt Karate Chop; Icy Wind and Aurora Beam only 15HKO you back or so. Dewgong outspeeds you after Icy Wind but is reliably 2HKOed by BB Karate Chop and Gong only 6HKOes you with Aurora Beam. Ditto for Piloswine - as in, also a reliable 2HKO with non-crit Chop - who also outspeeds you after Icy Wind; 5-hit Fury Attack 3HKOes you, as does Blizzard. You should win if you Hyper Potion up once barring freeze hax. I stomped ⅚ times without needing a Hyper Potion or switch at all (and only one the one time I needed), but definitely use one if you are in yellow to be safe (like, to avoid a crit). Bad AI with the Seels - they like to use Rest for some reason and never seem to try Icy Wind + Headbutt shenanigans - and Piloswine actually make it a pretty easy fight. That said, I am starting to get quite underwhelmed by Machamp’s power if you do not crit…you do crit a fair bit and still do a lot of damage if you do not, that said, and your bulk and power are just fine and if you swap in and out after Dewgong, you can outpace Piloswine and beat him even more decisively. Freeze hax can be a problem, of course - that and the fact a swap may be needed, even if very unlikely to be needed, bars it from S. A-Tier.

Rival 4:

Machamp (L33 -> L34 after Golbat -> L35 after Feraligatr): Golbat outpaces you and can annoy with Confuse Ray, but even non-PB Strength reliably 2HKOes, while Wing Attack 3HKOes you. I learned Vital Throw. Machamp OHKOes Haunter with Dig after or even without Curse (Shadow Ball only like 4HKOes you at best), but Haunter outspeeds. Feraligatr outspeeds but Water Gun only like 7HKOes you while Blackbelt Vital Throw 2-3HKOes. Speed tie Magnemite and OHKO with Karate Chop (Vital Throw is risky here as it definitely slows you down and potentially to be paralyzed or confused). Sneasel outspeeds but only like 11HKOes with Quick Attack while either Karate Chop or Vital Throw annihilates. Quite winnable, but you probably need to swap at least once due to Confuse Ray and maybe Curse and/or use a Hyper Potion. C-Tier because Dig.
Starmie (L34): Outspeed everyone. Golbat only 4HKOes (maybe 3HKOes) with Bite, so you can easily set up Rain Dance and OHKO with MS Surf. Magnemite, Haunter, and Sneasel fall just as easily, but Feraligatr is only 3HKOed by Rain MS Surf, while Bite 3-4HKOes you in return; admittedly, Recover shenanigans can help here a lot. Beware of Scary Face as it allows Feraligatr to outspeed you and kill/flinch you before you can recover. Sneasel only 3-4HKOes you with Faint Attack and Haunter 3HKOes with Shadow Ball. Without Rain, MS Surf still OHKOes Magnemite reliably and also should OHKO Haunter but reliably only 2HKOes Sneasel and Golbat A-Tier.

Espeon (L33 -> L34 after Feraligatr): Outspeed everyone but Sneasel, whom you speed tie. PB Return 2-3HKOes Golbat while HP Dark/Bite only 3HKOes and Golbat Leech Life only 9HKOes you back and Bite and Wing Attack 4HKOes. Sneasel outspeeds you and 4-5HKOes you with Faint Attack but falls to 2 PB Returns or one Iron Tail. Feraligatr Bite only 4HKOes you too while HP Dark or PB Return only 4HKOes. HP Dark and PB Return 3HKO Magnemite and the former OHKOes Haunter, but be careful of Scary Face as it allows Haunter and Gatr to outspeed you. Haunter 2-3HKOes with Shadow Ball. Decent matchup, winnable but you probably need at least a Hyper Potion and probably a Parlyz Heal. Magnemite can be annoying with paralysis and Golbat can suck due to Confuse Ray hax. C-Tier.

Clair:

Machamp (L40 -> L41 after D-Air 3): Outpace Dragonairs and 2HKO with non-crit Black Belt Karate Chop (safer than Vital Throw as you go first, VT also 2HKOes anyway but Karate Chop can OHKO if you ever crit); Dragonbreaths only 6HKO you at best from them, as do their Elemental Beams. Kingdra outspeeds you normally but Black Belt Vital Throw reliably 2HKOes Kingdra while Surf only 3HKOes you. You can handily beat anyone one-on-one including the Ace (and even kill everyone successively with a bit of luck - mainly Thunder Wave missing), but paralysis from D-Airs can be annoying (especially if it happens repeatedly) and accumulated damage may require healing. You will probably need a Hyper Potion and a Full Heal to clinch the matchup, but as Clair has practically identical items - A-Tier.

Espeon (L40): Reliably outspeed everyone. Psybeam 2HKOes Dragonairs reliably while their special moves only 4-5HKO you in return, albeit paralysis can stink. Psybeam 3HKOes Kingdra reliably. Hyper Beam only 2-3HKOes you in return from Kingdra and Surf 3HKOes you reliably. A Hyper Potion or two and a Parlyz Heal are needed to ensure the matchup. Espeon can beat everyone one-on-one, beat all 3 D-Airs successively fairly reliably without item support, and even potentially solo without item support (and win with a bit more than Clair herself needs), but ultimately your lack of bulk against Kingdra makes this a riskier matchup than for Machamp. B-Tier.

Starmie (L40): Reliably outspeed everyone. Icy Wind reliably 2HKOes Dragonairs while Dragonbreath only 5HKOes in return but Thunderbolt from second D-Air 2HKOes you. If you are paralyzed by the first D-Air before the second D-Air comes in, cure immediately. Kingdra only 3HKOes you with Hyper Beam but even NeverMeltIce Icy Wind only like 6HKOes at best (8HKOes with Clair using her own Hyper Potion); albeit you can use Recover to heal yourself and exploit Hyper Beam turns. You do need a Parlyz Heal likely at least thrice (as you are unlikely to OHKO any of the D-Airs) and maybe a Hyper Potion after handling the Thunderbolt Dragonair. Cannot sweep and needs even more item support than Clair does, but can beat everyone one-on-one. Surprisingly disappointing performance, C-Tier it is.

Rival 5:

Machamp (L42 -> 43 after Kadabra -> l): Sneasel outspeeds but dies to Karate Chop, albeit cutting your Defense using Screech or does pathetic damage using Fury Cutter. Golbat outspeeds but Wing Attack only 4HKOes (reliably 2HKOes after Screech); Confuse Ray, however, sucks and may warrant a Full Heal or Bitter Berry. Kadabra outspeeds and uses Future Sight (??? lol) but dies immediately to one non-PB Strength. Haunter outspeeds but dies to Earthquake. Best to fully heal up once the Starter comes in (and Future Sight hits), but Water Gun and +1 boosted Rage do laughable damage from Feraligatr - even together, the three only brought me to yellow, while Blackbelt Cross Chop reliably 2HKOes Feraligatr even barring a crit and either Cross Chop or EQ (or even Karate Chop or Dig) OHKOes Magneton. Feraligatr outspeeds you but you outspeed Magneton. Overall, pretty good matchup, but Golbat Confuse Ray (albeit not always selected) can suck, and you likely need one Hyper Potion or Full Heal/Bitter Berry (and maybe both) anyway to clear safely. C-Tier as you kinda need EQ/Dig to touch Haunter.

Espeon (L41): Outspeede everyone. 2HKO Sneasel solidly with Return + Quick Attack; Fury Cutter does laughable damage back. Solidly OHKO Golbat with Psybeam. Reliably 3HKO Magneton and 2-3HKO Feraligatr with Psybeam but paralysis from Mag can suck - Feraligatr Slash only 2HKOes if it crits and 4HKOes otherwise; Sonicboom only 7HKOes you, a joke, so you still win solo. Outspeed Haunter and OHKO with Psybeam. OHKO Kadabra with HP Dark or Return, Bite can probably do it too. Do quite well, but may need help for paralysis and maybe Feraligatr. B-Tier.

Starmie (L41 -> L42 after Kadabra): Outspeed everyone. Set up Rain Dance for free against Sneasel; he prefers to Screech or use weak Fury Cutter. Mystic Water Surf OHKOes Sneasel, Golbat, Magneton, and Haunter, but you may need to reset it once Kadabra (another free setup target) comes in. Rain Surf 3HKOes Feraligatr safely - even crit Slash only 3HKOes you at best, but you may need Recover due to being whittled down, as Slash can kill you if you have been Screeched, critted, and took prior damage and do not use Recover once Feraligatr comes in (even if that combination of things is pretty unlikely and smart Recover use can thwart it). If you have Thunder already, you destroy Feraligatr even more easily with the already setup Rain, but you do not need it. Overall, uber-dominant battle. S-Tier.

Will:

Machamp (L43): Xatus outspeed. PB Return (and even non-PB Return) very reliably 2HKOes, but so does Psychic, and Confuse Ray is just disgusting. Jynx reliably outspeeds and 2HKOes with Psychic but is OHKOed by even non-BB Vital Throw or PB Return. Outspeed Exeggutor and reliably 2HKO with PB Return, but if he sets up Reflect, you only 4HKO (3HKO if he already took a Return from you) while Psychic reliably 2HKOes you. Outspeed Slowbro and reliably 3HKO with PB Return, even after one Curse (or even two Curses, albeit only if they are used after Return and not before); Psychic still 2HKOes back. Surprisingly good performance for a Fighting-type, but not ideal. Being able to potentially beat everyone one-on-one is nice, albeit everyone can also potentially kill you one-on-one with a single crit and most can do it even before you kill them or attack at all. D-Tier.

Espeon (L41 -> L42 after Xatu 2): Outspeed everyone. Reliably 2HKOes Xatus with Bite or HP Dark. Psychic only 6HKOes you lol; only real problem is Confuse Ray. Outspeed Jynx and Exeggutor and reliably 2HKO with Bite or HP Dark. Even a 5-hit Doubleslap from Jynx only 3HKOes, ditto for Ice Punch and Psychic should 5HKO you from her and Exeggutor both. HP Dark/Bite reliably 2HKOes Slowbro, 3HKOes if he uses Amnesia after. Can potentially solo even itemless, but a Full Heal or two (or one Max Potion) will likely be needed. A-Tier.

Starmie (L42): Outspeed everyone. Set up Rain Dance on Xatu 1. Confuse Ray is annoying but Psychic only 5HKOes you. Thunder reliably OHKOes Xatus while Rain Surf and normal Surf reliably 2HKO. Icy Wind reliably 2HKOes Exeggutor. Rain Surf reliably 2HKOes Jynx and normal Surf 3HKOes. Rain Thunder narrowly misses an OHKO on Slowbro who can usually be killed by a Surf immediately after, even after Amnesia. Exeggutor and Jynx 3-4HKO you back with Psychic, however, and Lovely Kiss can be annoying too. A single Full Restore (or maybe a Hyper Potion and a Full Heal) should ensure this matchup. B-Tier, almost A but only not because of the annoying status conditions.

Koga:

Machamp (L43 -> L44 after Crobat): Outspeed Ariados and reliably 2HKO with Return, PB or not. Venomoth outspeeds you and can be nasty with Toxic or Supersonic but faints to 2 Returns while Psychic only 3HKOes you. Crobat outspeeds you but dies to 2 PB Returns and only 3HKOes you with Wing Attack and likes to waste time using Double Team and/or redeploying Toxic. Non-BB Cross Chop 2-3HKOes (use Earthquake or even Return if Forretress survives two hits) even sans a crit Forretress, whom you outspeed. Outspeed Muk and Sludge Bomb 4HKOes you back while Earthquake reliably 2HKOes. Winnable, but you will need one or two Full Heals and maybe a Hyper Potion or two (or even just two Full Restores) between Crobat and Venomoth. B-Tier, you beat everyone one-on-one and can even beat multiple members consecutively but do not sweep; and Return should be able to do what EQ does for Muk.

Espeon (L42 -> L43 after Ariados): Outspeed Ariados and Venomoth and OHKO both with Psybeam. Outspeed and 4HKO Forretress with Psybeam but beware of Explosion; Swift only 5HKOes you. Crobat outspeeds you but very narrowly lives a Psybeam (and may even be OHKOed, albeit less likely), so two do it; Double Team and/or Toxic can be annoying, however. Muk falls to two Psybeams but 3HKOes with Sludge Bomb. Only real issue is if Forretress explodes, but even that is relatively unlikely (albeit not worth risking). A-Tier.

Starmie (L42): Outspeed everyone but Crobat who outspeeds you. Set up Rain on Ariados; Giga Drain only 4HKOes you so it is relatively safe. Rain Surf reliably OHKOes the Pokemon. Rain Surf reliably 2HKOes Forretress and should OHKO if you hold Mystic Water. Venomoth is 2HKOed. Rain Surf reliably 2HKOes Muk (Sludge Bomb 3HKOes in return, however, and Minimize shenanigans can stink especially if you need to reset Rain) and normal Surf 3HKOes. Rain Thunder and Rain Surf both 2HKO Crobat but Double Team and/or Toxic can be annoying. You can clear pretty easily with one Hyper Potion unless the hax is too extreme, so A-Tier.

Bruno:

Machamp (L43): Everyone outspeeds you. OHKO Hitmontop easily with EQ as he outspeeds you to use Dig (BB Vital Throw 2HKOes reliably). BB Vital Throw O-2HKOes Hitmonlee while BB Cross Chop reliably OHKOes but Hi Jump Kick 3HKOes you. Hitmonchan cannot even 4HKO you with Mach Punch but falls to two Vital Throws or one non-crit Cross Chop. You outspeed the enemy Machamp and Cross Chop from either of you 2HKOes the other or OHKOes on a crit - a true mirror match, but you have a bit of an edge one-on-one. Onix dies to one Cross Chop or Vital Throw, non-crit or crit. You can practically solo with Cross Chop with a bit of luck, only likely needing a Max Potion once the enemy Machamp is down and/or if you do not have Earthquake to handle Hitmontop more quickly. A-Tier.

Starmie (L43): Outspeed everyone. 2HKO Hitmontop with MW Surf and take little from Dig. Set up Rain once Hitmonchan comes in; Rain Surf reliably 2HKOes Hitmonchan (Thunderpunch only 4HKOes back at best and Hi Jump Kick 6-7HKOes you), Hitmonlee, and Machamp 4HKOes with Rock Slide or 2HKOes with crit Cross Chop (3-4HKO otherwise). May need a Hyper Potion if you take too much punishment from Machamp and Chan but otherwise you should be gone. Lol Onix. A-Tier, you need really bad luck to lose. Verging on S.

Espeon (L42 -> L43 after Hitmontop -> L44 after Machamp): Outspeed and reliably at least 2HKO everyone with Psybeam but Onix (a OHKO there). Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan also run a risk of being OHKOed. Hitmontop Dig only 6HKOes (Psybeam + Quick Attack can prevent priority kills), Double Kick only 7HKOes, Mach Punch 10HKOes (Psybeam + Quick Attack can prevent priority kills), but crit Cross Chop reliably 2HKOes. Fantastic matchup, you may not even need any item support to win unless you fight Hitmonchan after taking a crit Chop from Machamp - at best a Hyper Potion. A-Tier, verging on S.

Karen:

Espeon (L44): Umbreon is a bad matchup, but potentially still beatable (albeit inefficient and 4HKOed by PB Return; Sand-Attack and Confuse Ray can be annoying and Faint Attack is a 3HKO on you but you outspeed. PB Return reliably 2HKOes and outspeeds Murkrow while Faint Attack only 3HKOes back. Outspeed Houndoom but PB Return only 3HKOes while Crunch 2HKOes you solidly. Outspeed and 2HKO Vileplume with Psybeam and Petal Dance only 4HKOes - Stun Spore can be annoying. Outspeed Gengar and OHKO with Psybeam. Overall, you actually beat 4/6ths of her team quite handily and can beat 5 with help, but Houndoom is too much. C-Tier.

Machamp (L43 -> L44 after Vileplume): Outspeed Umbreon and OHKO with Cross Chop, but slightly shaky accuracy can complicate things (not helped by Sand-Attack). Houndoom only 2-3HKOes with Flamethrower while Vital Throw OHKOes back. Speed tie Vileplume; PB Return 2HKOes and Petal Dance only 4HKOes back, but Stun Spore stinks. Gengar outspeeds and usually Licks for pathetic damage - paralysis admittedly can stink, but Curse should be a free turn based on the following matchups - but EQ OHKOes back. Murkrow outspeeds but is a joke as she has no Flying-type attacks; non-crit Cross Chop kills back reliably (Vital Throw O-2HKOes, which can be risky after Curse). You MAY need a Parlyz Heal or a Hyper Potion but otherwise are good to go, and may not even need one to clear. B-Tier, paralysis hax and/or ill-timed misses on Cross Chop or low rolls on Vital Throw on Murkrow keep you out of S…and EQ reliance out of A.

Starmie (L43 -> L44 after Gengar): Outspeed everyone. Set up Rain Dance on Umbreon. Rain-boosted MW Surf 2-3HKOes Umbreon leaning in favor of 2HKO (Faint Attack 3HKOes in return), OHKOes Murkrow (as does Thunder and only more safely). However, Icy Wind only 3HKOes Vileplume, paralysis can stink and can allow Vileplume to recover using Moonlight, and Petal Dance reliably 2HKOes you. Rain Surf OHKOes Houndoom (regular Surf falls just short) but surprisingly may fail to OHKO Gengar, potentially opening you to Lick. Set Rain up if it peters out, but only against Gengar - not Houndoom and VIleplume, and absolutely make sure to have it when Houndoom comes in. Do NOT attack Gengar or Houndoom while paralyzed, the former can use Destiny Bond and Doom OHKOes you (!!!) with Crunch. May need a Full Heal or two and you are better off not fighting Vileplume, but you can actually solo with a bit of luck and zero switching. B-Tier, you can beat everyone one-on-one, can sweep the rest of the team with a bit of luck, and even potentially sweep itemless (most likely need a Hyper Potion though).

Lance:

Espeon (L44 -> L45 after D-Nite 2): Everyone 2HKOes you with Hyper Beam but Charizard (3HKO) and you outspeed everyone. Espeon outspeeds and reliably 3HKOes Gyarados with Psybeam; he likes to set up Rain Dance on 1st turn, but may use Hyper Beam next (Rain Surf only 3HKOes). Psybeam 3-4HKOes every D-Nite - you outspeed - but Hyper Beam reliably 2HKOes again. Ancientpower from Aerodactyl 4HKOes you and Rock Slide should 3HKO. Speed tie Aerodactyl, Psybeam 2HKOes Aerodactyl reliably. Wing Attack from Charizard is a 4HKO. Outspeed Charizard and Psybeam 3HKOes. Outrage from L50 Dragonite 3HKOes you. A very scary matchup, to say you need to spam Full Restores is an understatement, but you can actually beat Charizard, Gyarados, and Aerodactyl fairly reliably one-on-one sans item support (and a bit of luck to not eat a crit Hyper Beam from the last two), but you are not sweeping and definitely need a Full Restore or two. D-Tier, verging on E.

Starmie (L44 -> L45 after D-Nite 3): Outspeed everyone. Set up Rain Dance; Gyarados uses Hyper Beam immediately for 2HKO level damage. Use Full Restore to heal and then fire a Thunder for a OHKO. Even NeverMeltIce Icy Wind only 2HKOes all D-Nites, sadly (2HKO without too), but you can narrowly live a Thunder from D-Nite 1 - best to leave that one to a teammate; Hyper Beams from all 2HKO you back, as does Outrage from D-Nite 3. MW Surf OHKOes Aerodactyl and O-2HKOes Charizard even sans rain. Very good matchup, but may need 2-3 Full Restores (probably 3) here to reliably clear. Make sure to fully heal before D-Nite 1 can attack you if you already took a Gyara Hyper Beam, or before D-Nite 2 if you narrowly lived a Thunder. You do destroy everyone one-on-one and can beat 5/6th of the team quite reliably with equivalent item support to Lance. B-Tier.

Machamp (L44 -> L45 after Aerodactyl -> L46 after D-Nite 1): Everyone outspeeds you. PB Return 2-3HKOes (lean in favor of 2HKO) Gyarados while Hyper Beam 3HKOes back too. Wing Attack from Aerodactyl 2-3HKOes while non-crit Cross Chop and Vital Throw reliably 2HKO. Charizard Flamethrower 3HKOes while PB Return 2HKOes Zard reliably. Hyper Beam from everyone 3HKOes you at best while Ice Punch 2HKOes back. D-Nites are reliably 2HKOed by Ice Punch. You need 5-6 Full Restores to sweep, but you can beat pretty much everyone one-on-one with a bit of luck (primarily for Aerodactyl, the scariest due to a strong Wing Attack). D-Tier.

Ranking Tally:

Starmie:

S (5): Morty, Jasmine, Pryce, Rival 5
A (4): Rival 3, Chuck, Rival 4, Koga, Bruno
B (3): Will, Karen, Lance
C (2): Clair
D (1): N/A
E (0.5): N/A

Total Score: (20 + 20 + 9 + 2) / 13 = 3.92 (A-Tier)

Machamp:

S (5): Whitney
A (4): Jasmine*, Pryce, Clair, Bruno
B (3): Chuck, Koga, Karen
C (2): Morty, Rival 4, Rival 5
D (1): Rival 3, Will, Lance
E (0.5): N/A

Total Score: (5 + 16 + 9 + 6 + 3) / 14 = 2.78 (B-Tier)

*Machamp's performance changes greatly with access to Vital Throw.

Espeon:

S (5): N/A
A (4): Pryce, Will, Koga, Bruno
B (3): Rival 3, Morty*, Chuck, Clair, Rival 5
C (2): Karen, Rival 4
D (1): Jasmine, Lance
E (0.5): N/A

Total Score: (16 + 15 + 4 + 2) / 13 = 2.85 (B-Tier)

*HP Dark and X-Item spam costs included.

I nominate Starmie for A (with a lean in favor of S), Machamp (Trade) for B, and Espeon for C. Espeon really isn't a bad Pokemon, but I do feel the costs of acquiring an Espeon pre-Morty, while not huge, are a little out there and may be complicated for players. I would not put one in D, however.
 

Gamer1234556

"Because... Scald is a shit Ferro answer!!!"
Hey, I was just wondering, is there a reason why the Kanto region and Red Matchups are excluded?
 

Ryota Mitarai

Shrektimus Prime
is a Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Hey, I was just wondering, is there a reason why the Kanto region and Red Matchups are excluded?
I am not the OP, but I suspect it has to do with the fact that tiering Kanto would bring little value, for most parts. The first seven Gym Leaders are pretty easy as a whole given their rather low levels and the fact you can do all Gyms in any order (so if Blaine capping at level 50 is an issue for your team, you can simply do some other six Gyms before him to gain some levels). Most small teams from Johto will be level matching or outleveling the earlier Gyms as well. Blue and Red are the only matchups that are difficult in any way and the huge level spike in there means that most things will underperform there, so people will not really take them into account due to this

tl;dr matchups are either too easy or so hard that most people wouldn't really bother taking them into account. If something performs well in Johto, there's a good chance it's performing well in Kanto too.
 
Sorry for the absence. IRL comes first as does any other personal issues I may have. This thread has been pretty busy since I last looked and will get on to talking about all of them if I see any issues.

Speaking of an issue aegon the unlikely

You violated the X Item Rule in the OP. As such, I will be invalidating your Espeon Log. As the rule states, they are not allowed as they can give an unnatural advantage. Even if I were to not invalidate it, what you have shown is BY FAR not an efficient way to use this Pokemon, buying 114 X Items and going to the lenght of getting the money to accomplish this Pre Morty. You entered the realm of competitive Gen 2 to get a HP Type you needed, in this scenario, Dark. Granted I am not sure if you SR to get those DVs you needed.

Yes, I am prepared to be flamed for such a decision, nothing new to me. However, the Rule is in the OP in bold and it is the testers job to make sure they read and understand the rules of the testing for this thread.
 
I'm not gonna defend this nor gonna argue with this, but i thought X-Items are only banned during boss fights, and that its okay to used the X-item for friendship grinding purposes, I would actually be surprised that using X-Items to friendship grind against wild pokemon is also banned even though this method of friendship grind is inefficient for a lot of times, because my main understanding from "X-Items are banned" is that you can't used it on major battles. Aside from that, yeah, that usage of 116 X-Item to evolve Eevee pre-Morty alone doesn't scream C Tier to me (feels like E Tier or worse if you asked me)
 
Hi, it's been a while. So I'd decided I wanted to try Arbok in Silver after using it in Red and it ended up becoming an actual test so I wanted to share the results. My team was Pidgey, Ekans, Wooper, and Lapras. I know their ranks are mostly set but I figure one more test isn't gonna hurt.

Falkner (level 12 - 13): 3HKOs opposing Pidgey with Gust while taking 5/32 damage from Tackle. After leveling up it sits at 19 Speed, meaning it ties with Pidgeotto. Both Gusts are 5HKOs so whoever moves first wins (a held Berry undos the damage from Pidgey). Doable especially with Sand-Attack, but hard.

Bugsy (level 16 - level 17): Gust 2HKOs Metapod and Kakuna through Harden. Scyther can barely live two but Quick Attack finishes it off, Fury Cutter barely scratches you. Pidgey levels up from Scyther alone.

Azalea Town Rival (level 17): Gust 2HKOs Gastly which likes to Spite and 3HKOs Zubat that can confuse you (Swift 2HKOs it). Bayleef is 3HKOed but Reflect turns it into a 5HKO. Still, Razor Leaf doesn't do much back so unless you got haxed between confusion and crits you should sweep fine, in any case you can choose to avoid Zubat.

Whitney (level 20): Swift 2HKOs Clefairy. Rollout is a 3HKO from full (almost 2HKO) and Swift looks like a 5HKO, not even Sand-Attack makes a difference.

Burned Tower Rival (level 23): Sharp Beak Gust barely doesn't 2HKO Haunter, meaning it can live after Curse. Magnemite is 3HKOed by Return or 2HKOed by Mud-Slap but does too much back so best to skip. Gust 3HKOs Bayleef and Zubat lives Return in red and can confuse. You should get three KOs easily.

Morty (level 25): Sharp Beak Gust leaves Gastly in red as it Curses. Haunter is 2HKOed. Gengar is only 4HKOed and 2HKOs with Dream Eater, and since it outspeeds it'll get multiple opportunities to put you to sleep even with a Mint Berry. The level 23 Haunter barely lives two SB Gusts but only Mean Looks back. Gets three KOs at most, Gengar is too much.

Chuck (level 30): Both Sharp Beak Gust and Pink Bow Return 2HKO Primeape and 3HKO Poliwrath, outspeeding both. However DynamicPunch is a roll to OHKO at -1 or if Primeape used Karate Chop, meaning you need to hope for multiple misses. Also without a boosting item Poliwrath can now live three hits. Winnable due to how RNG-intense this fight is but not pretty.

Jasmine (level 30): Pitiful. Return 3HKOs but Thunderbolt OHKOs back. Mud-Slap is a roll to 2HKO the Magnemite. Steelix takes no damage so you can only hope to PP stall it with misses, which is clearly not an option.Pryce (level 31): Pink Bow Return 2HKOs Seel and 3HKOs Dewgong, which can be faster if you're at -1 and 2HKOs. Piloswine is 3HKOed (if you can use Return + Swift + Return to avoid procing Hyper Potion) but OHKOs back so you gotta hope for two misses. Bad matchup, will generally only beat Seel.

Underground Rival (level 32 - 33): Pink Bow Return appears to be a bad roll to 2HKO Golbat, you're faster. Mud-Slap (sigh) 2HKOs Magnemite that can para. After leveling up, Wing Attack puts Haunter in low yellow as it kills itself with Curse. Fly does the same. Sneasel gets 2HKOed by Return. Wing Attack 3HKOs Meganium which can Reflect or para you with Body Slam. Again not a great matchup, you might get a full sweep but you might also take so much damage that Meganium finishes you off.

Clair (level 38): Pink Bow Return leaves the Dragonair in low yellow and they can para you. Ice Beam/Thunderbolt will do 56/125. With a ParalyzeCureBerry you can beat two but will likely die to the third if you get T-Waved twice. Kingdra is 3HKOed (barely lives two with Pink Bow) and almost 2HKOs back with Surf doing 58-65, you can win if you use Wing Attack/Swift once to avoid procing Hyper Potion. Good matchup since you can beat one Dragonair and Kingdra if you have a berry, although it's still a roll.

Victory Road Rival (level 39 - 40): Return is a roll to OHKO Sneasel which Fury Cutters for 1 HP. Magneton is 3HKOed but paras you, best to avoid it. Thundershock 3HKOs back. Return OHKOs Kadabra and 2HKOs Golbat which can confuse you or , Sharp Beak Wing Attack 2HKOs Haunter which Mean Looks and 2HKOs Meganium even after Reflect (although it appears to be a roll). Pidgeot outspeeds everything. Note that if you fight Meganium first Golbat will be 3HKOed so it has more turns to confuse you. Still pretty good matchup.

Will (level 41): Pink Bow Return 2HKOs Xatu which can confuse or Psychic for 56/135. Jynx is OHKOed and Slowbro is 3HKOed, if it Amnesias first you win. The second Xatu is also 2HKOed by Return and Exeggutor takes one Wing Attack/Fly and finishes you off, doing around 68 damage. With a Bitter Berry you still OHKO Jynx, meaning you can at the very least beat the two Xatu and Jynx and possibly Exeggutor. Pidgeot outspeeds everything.

Koga (level 41): Sharp Beak Wing Attack leaves Ariados in red, if you have Swift you can KO it without missing. Forretress is 5HKOed and does 26/135 with Swift, so about a 5HKO. Since it booms it's best to just switch out. Wing Attack is a roll to OHKO Venomoth but Fly should do the trick. Muk appears to live two Returns without Pink Bow and it can Minimize and Acid Armor or Toxic. Then Crobat can Double-Team and Toxic while being a roll to 2HKO with PB Return. Most of the time you should beat the two bugs and one of Muk/Crobat. Only the bat is faster.

Bruno (level 41 - 42): Wing Attack 2HKOs Hitmontop that Quick Attacks twice for 33 damage. Avoid Onix. Wing Attack OHKOs Hitmonlee and leaves Hitmonchan in red, Fly is better here so you don't take more damage. Wing Attack then 2HKOs Machamp, whose Cross Chop does 88/138 meaning you live in red. Great matchup as long as you don't get crit. Pidgeot outspeeds everything.

Karen (level 42): Return 3HKOs Umbreon which can Sand-Attack or confuse, Faint Attack does 25/138. Gengar appears to be a speed tie (my Pidgeot has 104 Speed at level 42 which is pretty high) and survives two Sharp Beak Wing Attacks, meaning it can Curse and Destiny Bond. Murkrow and Houndoom are 2HKOed by Return and Vileplume dies to two Wing Attacks and Stun Spores. Murkrow's Faint Attack does 37 damage and Houndoom's Flamethrower does 77 meaning it can live both hits from full. If you hold a ParalyzeCureBerry and have something else take care of Gengar you can KO the other four, however do note that self-hit or Faint Attack from Umbreon can put you in range of Murkrow + Houndoom (I barely lived once with 1 HP). Only Gengar is faster.

Lance (level 42): Pink Bow Return 2HKOs Gyarados which sets up rain or Hyper Beams for 81/138. The level 47 Dragonite are 3HKOed and 2HKO back with Thunder/Blizzard while the level 50 does about 80 with Outrage or 115 with Hyper Beam, so you can barely live from full and take it out. If it Outrages you're dead unless it started with Safeguard. Charizard is 2HKOed by Return and does around 79 damage with Flamethrower, you can win one-on-one. Avoid Aerodactyl since you can't really touch it. Without healing Pidgeot will only generally only beat Gyarados and Charizard or possibly the level 50 Dnite, you need the Pink Bow tho since they're pretty close to living so don't try to use ParalyzeCureBerry against the other dragons. It's Lance after all.Only Aero outspeeds.


So I actually didn't know this was only found at level 4 (so lower than Old Rod Qwilfish), that makes it quite a hassle to level up and will prolly not be up to par without grinding. Gold players might find a better use of it since they can buy it at level 10 in the Game Corner and immediately teach it Headbutt/Dig—or just not using it might be for the best.

Bugsy (level 15): Bite 3HKOs Metapod and Kakuna. Scyther is a no, you do like a 6HKO while it outspeeds and 4HKOs with Fury Cutter.

Azalea Town Rival (level 15): Bite 2HKOs Gastly and 4HKOs Zubat, you outspeed the latter but not the former. Bayleef 5HKOs with Razor Leaf (3HKOs with crits) but you can barely hurt it with Bite, Poison Sting is too weak between Growl and Reflect.

Whitney (level 20): Headbutt 3HKOs Clefairy. Miltank's Rollout 3HKOs before you can do much of anything. Dig doesn't help because Stomp is a 2HKO.
(level 22): Tried as an Arbok. Headbutt now 2HKOs Clefairy and 5HKOs Miltank, who 4HKOs with Rollout. Not worth it, clearly.

Burned Tower Rival (level 23): Bite 2HKOs Haunter which kills itself with Curse, you outspeed. Magnemite is like 5HKOed by Heabutt so not very reliable. Dig OHKOs both ez. Bayleef appears to be 3HKOed by Heabutt and doesn't do much back while Zubat is 2HKOed. Sweeps with Dig, gets three KOs without.

Morty (level 25): Bite OHKOs Gastly, 2HKOs Haunter and 3HKOs Gengar which nearly OHKOs with Dream Eater if it puts you to sleep. Dig OHKOs both Haunter and 2HKOs Gengar. Only Gengar outspeeds. With a Mint Berry a sweep is likely with Dig and possible without, especially if Gengar wastes a turn with Mean Look.

Chuck (level 30): Poison Barb Sludge Bomb is a roll to OHKO Primeape and leaves Poliwrath in red, poison means a kill. Arbok lives two Surfs and two DynamicPunches after a Leer in low yellow, so you're more than favored to win unless you get a lot of hax.

Jasmine (level 31): So this has two ways it can go. Without Dig you might as well not even try since Headbutt only 4HKOs Magnemite which can para, confuse you or almost 2HKO with Thunderbolt. With Dig both Magnemite are OHKOed but Steelix is like 6HKOed and Hyper Potion means you'll run out of PP, meanwhile Iron Tail 2HKOs back. First bad matchup since Whitney.

Pryce (level 31): Poison Barb Sludge Bomb OHKOs Seel and 2HKOs Dewgong, which might outspeed after an Icy Wind. Piloswine survives multiple Strengths due to Hyper Potion, however if you can poison it the first time you might 3HKO it (Sludge Bomb + Sludge Bomb + Strength) since you live a Blizzard and it likes to use Mist. Not an amazing matchup but definitely could've been worse.

Underground Rival (level 32 - 33): Headbutt appears to fail to 3HKO Golbat (Strength does, tho) and only 4HKOs Magnemite. Bite 2HKOs Haunter which Mean Looks. After leveling up, Poison Barb Sludge Bomb leaves Sneasel in low yellow as it Quick Attacks twice and almost OHKOs Meganium which doesn't do much back. You should get three KOs without Dig and four with, obviously if you started with Cyndaquil Feraligatr will be a bit worse but I doubt it makes a difference as long as you avoid Golbat.

Clair (level 38): Poison Barb Sludge Bomb leaves the Dragonair in low yellow and they can para you. Tbolt/Ice Beam/etc do 25/109, a 5HKO. Sludge Bomb is a 3HKO on Kingdra which sadly does too much with Surf, around 53-62/109 so a 2HKO on average. With a Poison Barb equipped it's a roll to 2HKO with poison. If you use a ParalyzeCureBerry you can technically still win if it Smokescreens (which it likes to if you're at full). To avoid procing Hyper Potion you can either Sludge Bomb + Screech + Sludge Bomb or Screech twice and then Sludge Bomb for the kill. You can also try to hax with Glare but lol. With a berry you can either beat all Dragonair or one Dragonair + Kingdra, if you're lucky and don't get Surfed twice. I had high hopes for this matchup so it's sad that it can't live two. Arbok outspeeds everything.

Victory Road Rival (level 39 - 40): Poison Barb Sludge Bomb is a roll to OHKO Sneasel which Fury Cutters for 2 damage. Kadabra is outsped and OHKOed. Golbat lives three Sludge Bombs and can confuse or do 24/112 with Wing Attack. Screech turns it into a 2HKO. Magneton and Haunter drop to both Dig and Earthquake. Meganium then is a roll with Sludge Bomb and does 24 damage with Body Slam. If running Return Golbat lives two in red, after Screech it's apparently a roll. Arbok outspeeds everything, pretty great outside of Golbat's confusion shenanigans. Note that if you fight Meganium earlier and it Reflects Kadabra lives to Future Sight (lol) and Magneton can live a Dig but not an Earthquake.

Will (level 41): Poison Barb Sludge Bomb 2HKOs Xatu and you can live a Psychic in red (it does around 95-107), unfortunately it's a range for Quick Attack to finish you off. Jynx drops to a PB Sludge Bomb, it's a roll otherwise. Slowbro then comes in and finishes you off since you can only 3HKO. Exeggutor appears to be a bad roll to OHKO and OHKOs back, pretty impressive but I do have quite high attack. At level 42 that might be guaranteed. The second Xatu goes as the first one. Arbok outspeeds everything. For being a Poison-type against a Psychic-type trainer it's far from terrible since you might be able to get three KOs.

Koga (level 41): Ariados lives two Earthquakes so you need either a boosting item or Return, otherwise it can BP Double-Team. Venomoth goes the same way except it Psychics for 72/117. Forretress is 5HKOed by Earthquake, it becomes a 3HKO with Screech (with Soft Sand it lives two with a sliver of health). Muk is then 2HKOed by Earthquake unless it Acid Armors. Crobat comes in and Double-Teams or Wing Attacks for 36 damage while Pink Bow Return 3HKOs (5HKOs after a Full Restore) meaning you're unlikely to win. Not great, thanks to Screech you can beat both Forretress and Muk but the fact that you can struggle to 2HKO the bugs should tell you what to expect. Only Crobat outspeeds.

Bruno (level 41 - 42): Sludge Bomb 2HKOs Hitmontop, Earthquake KOs it underground so you don't take Dig for 56 damage. Onix is 2HKOed and 2HKOs back with Earthquake or sets up Sandstorm, best to avoid just in case. Hitmonlee barely lives Poison Barb Sludge Bomb but the worst thing it can do is Swagger so a Bitter Berry works great. Sludge Bomb 2HKOs Hitmonchan which Fire Punches for 14 damage and 3HKOs (5HKOs after it heals) Machamp which does 41/120 with Rock Slide. Screech is very good here since it allows you to 2HKO Champ with EQ + Sludge Bomb without procing healing (or OHKO if you use it twice, barring a miss). As long as you have Earthquake to beat Hitmontop and don't get crit it's a great matchup since you can get up to four KOs including the ace with either Bitter Berry or Screech. Arbok outspeeds everything.

Karen (level 42): Poison Barb Sludge Bomb 3HKOs Umbreon even with poison, meaning it can Sand-Attack or confuse you with Faint Attack doing 24/120. It's a 2HKO after Screech. Vileplume is a roll to live two Sludge Bombs and can paralyze and Petal Dance for 23 damage. Gengar is 2HKOed by Earthquake but generally kills itself to Curse you. Then Murkrow lives in red and can finish you off after Curse doing 33 damage. Houndoom's Flamethrower does 76 damage and lives an Earthquake so you can't win one on one. You can possibly beat the other four but between confusion, paralysis and Curse it's too much so you're better of taking on Umbreon and Murkrow and one of the Poison-types (likely Gengar since it Curses but it might Destiny Bond instead). Only Gengar and Houndoom outspeed.

Lance (level 42): Gyarados lives two Poiso Barb Sludge Bombs without poison and sets up rain, doing 74/120 with Hyper Beam or 64 with Surf. The level 47 Dragonite are 3HKOed and T-Wave first, doing 86 with Hyper Beam. I guess you can beat one with ParalyzeCureBerry but not two. The level 50 Dragonite lives three Sludge Bombs without poison and 2HKOs with Outrage or does over 100 with Hyper Beam, if you're at full you can win with Screech since it likes to Safeguard (or if it Hyper Beams since you're faster). Charizard does 77 damage with Flamethrower and is only 3HKOed, it's also faster so you really can't do much here. Avoid Aerodactyl since you can't touch it. Awful matchup as expected, thanks to Screech you can beat one of Gyara or a Dnite as long as they use status moves or HB but not more than one. Only Charizard and Aero outspeed.


Bugsy (level 15): Water Gun 4HKOs Metapod and Kakuna. Scyther 3HKOs with Fury Cutter while you barely touch it with Slam.

Azalea Town Rival (level 15): Water Gun 3HKOs Gastly, might be a roll but it barely does damage although Hynosis and Lick paralysis are annoying. Mud-Slap is a 2HKO. Bayleef is lol. Slam is a 3HKO on Zubat, confusion and flinches are a pain.

Whitney (level 20): Headbutt is a roll to 2HKO Clefairy. Ice Punch 5HKOs Miltank but Rollout 5HKOs you first so you need a miss. Dig appears to be a 4HKO but Miltank tends to use Milk Drink after missing so it's unreliable. Still could be much worse. With Rollout Clefairy is 3HKOed and Miltank is 2HKOed, so you can win as long as you don't miss/get flinched. Mano a mano your Rollout is a 4HKO, pretty good since she'll generally do the same (if she Attracts you're doomed).

Burned Tower Rival (level 22 - 23): Surf OHKOs Haunter after Curse. Dig is not recommended because you'll take Curse damage underground. Bayleef apparently lives two Ice Punches and Razor Leaf nearly OHKOs so avoid. Surf OHKOs Magnemite and leaves Zubat in red, Ice Punch is a roll to OHKO.

Morty (level 25): Surf OHKOs Gastly as it Curses, 2HKOs both Haunter and barely doesn't 2HKO Gengar. Dig OHKOs both Haunter and is a roll to OHKO Gengar, unfortunately the Curse damage will rack up while you're underground. You should still get three KOs most of the time. Rollout is a roll to KO Gastly after Curse, 2HKOs Gengar and OHKOs both Haunter so with a Mint Berry you sweep unless you miss.

Chuck (level 30): Surf 2HKOs Primeape who doesn't do much unless it crits Karate Chop. Pink Bow Headbutt is a 4HKO on Poliwrath, Strength almost 3HKOs but falls short. Dig does the same, except that Mind Reader allows Poliwrath to hit you even underground so not worth it. DynamicPunch appears to be a 3HKO without Defense drops but a 2HKO with, and since you're slower you'll lose more often than not.

Jasmine (level 30): MysticWater Surf almost OHKOs Magnemite which SonicBoom for less than a fifth apiece since you're faster. Steelix lives the Surf and Sunny Days and Hyper Potions, meaning you need four total to KO it. Dig obviously OHKOs both Magnemite. With Rain Dance you just click Surf thrice for profit.

Pryce (level 30): Headbutt 2HKOs Seel and 5HKOs Dewgong which Rests. Neither Strength nor Dig help since the former doesn't do enough and the latter just wastes sleep turns. Piloswine barely lives MysticWater Surf but likes to Mist so you can just 2HKO it with Heabutt + Surf (do note it can be faster, tho). Average matchup, you beat the ace but that's not saying much.

Underground Rival (level 32 - 33): Both Surf and Ice Punch 2HKO Golbat that can confuse or do 20/114 damage with Wing Attack. Meganium comes in and OHKOs you with Razor Leaf. Surf OHKOs Magnemite, 2HKOs Sneasel and leaves Haunter in red. Dig obviously OHKOs Magnemite and Haunter. Good matchup, would be even better against another starter.

Clair (level 28): All the Dragonair outspeed and live a Soft Sand Earthquake, meaning they can weaken you with repeated DragonBreaths (each doing 27/136). I tried using Amnesia but the damage from lolSlam was still too much so you'd definitely need at least one healing item. Kingdra's Surf does around 67/136 so Quagsire can barely live two hits from full whereas Kingdra lives two Earthquakes (barely with Soft Sand). You can try to Amnesia up but Hyper Beam does around 50 so if you took damage Surf + HB will KO. I tried setting up on the last Dragonair but you're put in range of two Hyper Beams so you're definitely not winning there. Best to just try to go mano a mano since when at full Kingdra seems to prioritize Smokescreen. Disappointing matchup, you can technically beat the three Dragonair or just Kingdra but most of the time you'll just beat two Dragonair.

Victory Road Rival (level 39 - 40): Soft Sand Earthquake OHKOs Sneasel which Fury Cutters for 8 damage. You can survive Meganium's Razor Leaf from full but Ice Punch only 3HKOs so death. Magneton can only Sonicboom before dropping. Golbat's Wing Attack does 21 after leveling up and is 2HKOed by Ice Punch/Surf, meaning it leaves you at 76/143—so low green. Kadabra Future Sights and Haunter Mean Looks as both fall to Earthquake. If a Reflect is up Kadabra can survive one hit in red so no biggie. Everything outspeeds but the worst thing that can happen to you is Golbat confusing, the rest just get plummeted by Earthquake. Good matchup, better against the other starters.

Will (level 41): Xatu's Psychic does 54/147 while you 2HKO with Ice Punch. Exeggutor comes in and is a roll to 2HKO with Psychic (around 67-78) while having a chance to survive two Ice Punches. Jynx is OHKOed by Earthquake but does about 67 damage so you'll likely be KOed. Slowbro is 3HKOed by EQ and does around 59/147 so you can beat it one-on-one. With Amnesia you can live up to 4 Psychics and possibly KO Xatu, Exeggutor, Jynx, and Slowbro before falling although you need the first Xatu to Confuse Ray and you hold a Bitter Berry. You only outspeed Slowbro so it's very tricky without healing.

Koga (level 41): Ariados and Venomoth are 2HKOed by EQ into Surf. Be careful against Ariados since if you miss you can hit hard by Giga Drain. Forretress appears to be a roll to 2HKO with Surf. Crobat is 3HKOed by Ice Punch but Double-Teams and Toxics, doing 31/147 with Wing Attack. Muk can live an Earthquake from full but can also stall with Minimize. The worst they can do is Toxic so a PoisonCureBerry is useful here. You're unlikely to sweep but you should be able to KO at least the three bugs and Muk. Quagsire only outspeeds Ariados and Forretress.

Bruno (level 41 - 42): Earthquake OHKOs Hitmontop underground, 2HKOs Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan and 3HKOs Machamp (5HKOs after healing). Surf OHKOs Onix. Both Hitmonlee and Machamp do too much damage with High Jump Kick/Cross Chop so you won't be beating those. Onix's EQ does 28 damage and Hitmonchan's Mach Punches do 24/147 each. Rough matchup, it beats only the weakest mons and fails one-on-one against the Champ. Everything is faster.

Karen (level 41 - 42): Soft Sand Earthquake 3HKOs Umbreon, however since it's faster it can be more annoying with Sand-Attack and confusion. It's Faint Attack does 28/147. Vileplume comes in and OHKOs with Petal Dance, I tried using Amnesia on Umbreon but Ice Punch doesn't 2HKO back so you still die. Gengar is OHKOed by EQ and Curses, with lick doing 8 damage. Murkrow is 2HKOed by Ice Punch or Surf and does 37 damage with Faint Attack, meaning you'll be left in low yellow. Honestly it might be better to avoid it. Finally Houndoom does 68/151 with Crunch and dies to Earthquake. It's very tricky due to hax but you can technically beat Umbreon, Gengar, and Houndoom by just spamming the Ground STAB, alternatively you can beat Murkrow and Houndoom from full but not both + Gengar due to Curse.

Lance (level 42 - 43): Avoid Gyarados, the best move against it is Pink Bow Return and it only 3HKOs meaning you'll likely be left in red. It's Hyper Beam does 70/151 so you can barely live two. Level 47 Dragonite's Hyper Beam does 83/151 as it dies to two Ice Punches. The Blizzard one does 68 damage putting you in KO range if it hits, you might want to avoid it. Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam does around 60 damage and it's 2HKOed by Surf. The level 50 does 84 with Outrage, unless you were able to Amnesia before you won't be beating it. Its Hyper Beam does 87 so there's a slight chance you can beat both it and Aero but you're losing more often than not. Charizard is also 2HKOed and it does 25 with Slash and 57 with Hyper Beam so you can possibly beat both Aero and Zard as long as one of them uses Hyper Beam first turn, otherwise even Rock Slide can put you in KO range of HB + Slash + HB. You'll only be getting two KOs at most so choose wisely according to your team, the most likely combination is Aero + Zard. Quagsire is slower than everything, of course.


Chuck (level 29): Surf 2HKOs Primeape which outspeeds and actually hurts with Karate Chop. You're faster than Poliwrath but Body Slam seems to only 5HKO, meanwhile DynamicPunch almost OHKOs back. I had only 89 thousand pokédollars at this point so it doesn't seem likely to get the Thunder TM.
(level 30): Went to beat the trainers in Pryce's gym and sold some items to get enough cash and taught it both Rain Dance and Thunder. At level 30 apparently Primeape is a speed tie so you can RD and OHKO with Surf. Poliwrath lives Thunder in yellow and does around 80/146 with DPunch, meaning you can die if Primeape used Leer or Karate Chop (sometimes I died, sometimes I lived with 3 HP). Guessing you're still favored but it's debatable if it's worth the investment.

Jasmine (level 29): MysticWater Surf is a roll to OHKO the Magnemite which can either para or take you to yellow with Thunderbolt. Steelix always lives in red and can Sunny Day and Hyper Potion, meaning you'll only 4HKO it. Thunderbolt + Iron Tail appears to KO back so be careful. Rain Dance means you KO all three, however you need a ParalyzeCureBerry because they're gonna T-Wave you. At level 30 both Magnemite drop to Surf but Steelix still lives with a sliver of health. Iron Tail appears to be a 3HKO back so you should win no problem against it.

Pryce (level 30): After beating all trainers in the gym I had 109,800 pokédollars lol. I went and sold a TM and bought Thunder so I could test it. Body Slam is a 2HKO on Seel and a roll to 3HKO on Dewgong, meaning you can actually get PP stalled with Rest if you don't have a Pink Bow. Rain-boosted Surf is a 2HKO on Seel and a 3HKO on Dewgong, however it's faster after a Speed drop so it can flinch to stall out rain. Surf OHKOs Piloswine. With RD + Thunder Seel gets OHKOed and Dewgong is 2HKOed, the pig is obviously swept away. Good matchup although Dewgong Resting on you can be annoying.

Underground Rival (level 32): MysticWater Surf 2HKOs Golbat which outspeeds and confuses you. Both Rain-boosted Surf and Thunder fail to OHKO, impressively. Magnemite is OHKOed by Surf and Haunter is brought to red if it doesn't Curse. Sneasel is 2HKOed. Since you lack an Ice-type move Meganium is a no. Average matchup considering so much outspeeds, could be better against another starter. EDIT: I totally forgot to try Icy Wind, I guess that could help outspeed Golbat and Meganium (and Haunter too) but dunno if it's worth it considering you'll only carry it for a couple of levels until Ice Beam.

Clair (level 37): Outspeeds and OHKOs all three Dragonair with NeverMeltIce Ice Beam. Kingdra is faster and is 3HKOed, Lapras lives a Hyper Beam in green so the biggest issue is if you get PP stalled due to Smokescreen misses + Hyper Potion. A way to avoid this is to use Body Slam once but it's not guaranteed. Still, pretty close to an excellent matchup all around.

Victory Road Rival (level 39 - 40): Surf 2HKOs Sneasel which Screeches and 22/163, 2HKOs Magneton which paras and Thundershocks for 43/163, 2HKOs Haunter which Curses before dying and 2HKOs Kadabra which Future Sights and Recovers before falling. At that point Lapras levels up and is at 62/167, in yellow. Meganium for some reason Reflects and dies to NeverMeltIce Ice Beam (at level 39 it can live), its Body Slam at -2 does 45-50 damage so you're left in red, I couldn't get it to Razor Leaf me there but it does around 42 damage. Golbat's Wing Attack does 43 damage so you can actually sweep the whole team even with all that damage as long as you don't get fp'd. If you Rain Dance against Sneasel you OHKO it, Magneton, Haunter, and Kadabra before the rain stops and then outspeed and OHKO Meganium and Golbat with NMI Ice Beam. Good but sloggy matchup without RD (better to skip Magneton), amazing 10/10 matchup with. Sneasel, Kadabra, and Haunter outspeed naturally, Golbat appears to speed tie at level 39.

Will (level 41): Both Xatu and Exeggutor are OHKOed by Ice Beam, the first one can confuse or Psychic for 46/171. Jynx survives two Surfs but for some reason Doubleslaps although its Psychic does around 50 damage. Slowbro is 2HKOed by Thunder as long as you don't miss the first one as it Amnesias. Rain Dance helps 2HKO Jynx and gives perfect accuracy to Thunder but you're prolly better off avoiding Jynx in the first place. Lapras only outspeeds Exeggutor and Slowbro. Good matchup, should take out at least three mons.

Koga (level 41): Surf 2HKOs Ariados, Venomoth, and Forretress and 3HKOs Muk whereas NeverMeltIce Ice Beam OHKOs Crobat (it seems to be a roll). Venomoth can confuse or Toxic you but outside of that the only threat is Muk. Very straightforward matchup, you just clicks STABs for profit. A PoisonCureBerry can help minimize that issue. Solid matchup, only Venomoth and Crobat outspeed.

Bruno (level 41 - 42): Surf 3HKOs the Hitmons, Top falls to Surf + rain-boosted Surf as it Digs for 20/171. Lee does over 100 dmaage with High Jump Kick so best to avoid (the mon, not the move). Chan does 44 damage with Mach Punch and falls in two hits right as rain stops. Surf seems to be a 3HKO on Machamp which does around 160 damage with Cross Chop, so any prior damage and you're toast. Bad matchup, you can beat Top + Onix + Chan but even then you'll be taking too much and the others just slice you in half. Lapras outspeeds everything but Lee (and Chan since it uses priority).

Karen (level 41 - 42): Surf 4HKOs Umbreon which can confuse or Sand-Attack with Faint Attack doing 23/171. With Rain Dance it becomes a 3HKO. Then Vileplume comes in and is a roll to OHKO with NeverMeltIce Ice Beam, guaranteed at level 42. It can paralyze and do 76 damage with Petal Dance if it lives. Gengar is 2HKOed by Surf/Ice Beam and it Curses. Houndoom's Flamethrower does 64/174 and is 2HKOed by Surf (OHKO in rain), however Curse or prior damage can put you in range. Murkrow does 33 damage with Faint Attack and dies to Ice Beam. If you can set up rain before Houndoom comes in its Crunch will do 59 damage and Surf will OHKO. Tricky matchup, you can beat all but Gengar but you'll generally have to decide between Umbreon and Houndoom. At least you can KO Murkrow + the hellhound in a row with RD. Lapras only outspeeds Umbreon and Vileplume.

Lance (level 42 - 43): Unlike with the other mons Gyarados doesn't like to set up rain for you so it can either Hyper Beam for 85/175 or Surf for 39 damage (the best option), being OHKOed by Thunder as long as it hits. Thunder Dragonite does 103/175 and the other level 47's Hyper Beam does 91 damage, both are OHKOed by Ice Beam. Aerodactyl's Rock Slide does 103 damage and it lives a Surf outside of rain in red. The level 50 Dragonite does 68 with Outrage or 94 with Ice Beam, promptly being KOed by Ice Beam. If you're at full health (say Gyara Rain Danced and the Dragonite T-Waved instead of attacking) it'll sometimes Safeguard first making it an easier KO. Charizard does 62 damage with Flamethrower and is 2HKOed, so good luck unless you set up rain first. In that case its Hyper Beam does 53. Without healing you can technically beat Gyarados, the Blizzard Dnite and one of the level 50 Nite and Charizard and possibly all four if they used status moves. Lapras is slower than everything.


final team silver 2.png


Onto the rankings:

:pidgey: Pidgey is C, although very close to B. So last time I'd tried it I must've had pretty bad DVs because at level 32 it had 91 Speed, compared to the 104 it had here. It was also female but I don't think I was disappointed with the offensive calcs—or at least not more than here. Pidgey starts out well but after evolving it has basically no solid matchup, doing even worse than Quilava because it at least beats the gyms with the type advantage whereas Pidgeotto needs a lot of luck to beat Chuck. Once it becomes Pidgeot tho, its usefulness soars. Good Clair matchup being able to beat a Dragonair and Kingdra, great Elite Four always beating three-to-four mons and even defeating both Umbreon and Houndoom against Karen. Against Lance it fails as is expected, however it should KO both Gyarados and either Charizard (as long as it outspeeds) or the level 50 Dragonite if you're at full health and it doesn't lead with Outrage. Big if but it happens pretty often. So basically I'd call Pidgey high B, Pidgeotto D and Pidgeot B again, rounding out a high C. If someone else nommed it for B I wouldn't be against it but that hasn't happened so C it is
A very surprising realization was that Pidgeot doesn't have that great bulk, with both its defenses being lower than Arbok here (prolly had bad DVs in Def because it's supposed to have 75 versus Arbok's 70, the opposite being true for SpDef since Arbok has 79 and Pidgeot 70) with only its HP being rather high at 83. Who decided to make a slower, less powerful flier than Fearow/Dodrio and not even making it really bulky?

:ekans: Ekans is either high D or even C. I'm gonna be honest here, before the run I was expecting its defining matchups to be Clair's Kingdra (could it 2HKO or live two Surfs?), Will's Jynx and Exeggutor (could it KO one/both? Victreebel could but it was slower than Jynx and Tentacruel was faster but not strong enough, would Arbok be in the perfect middle?), and Bruno's team of fighters. Depending on how many of those were positive I'd be swayed. Then I checked and realized it was only found at level 4, lower than Qwilfish's 5 and not even learning Swift and started wondering why I'd decided to pick it. Hell, Qwilfish has higher stats than Arbok in everything except SpAtk/SpDef!
Sure enough it had bad Bugsy and Whitney matchups, even after evolving. However, Morty was a decent matchup, Chuck was great, and even tho Jasmine was a dud Pryce was not bad, even being able to beat Piloswine with poison. Then Clair came in... and Kingdra lived two hits and 2HKOed with Surf. Disappointing. Poison Barb + poison helped get the faster 2HKO but then it meant that I couldn't KO a Dragonair for fear of paralysis. It could still win if only Kingdra started with Smokescreen but that still wasn't good enough. I was prepared to call it D but against Will it could live a Psychic from Xatu and 2HKO and then OHKO Jynx AND had a chance to OHKO Exeggutor! (My Arbok must've had near max DVs because it was consistenly one or two points ahead of Quag so it's prolly unlikely). Koga sucked outside of EQ against Muk, but Bruno was great since it could live two Rock Slides from Machamp + Hitmonchan's Fire Punch and with a Bitter Berry I could take advantage of Hitmonlee's Swagger. Against Karen Umbreon could be beat with Screech but Houndoom won, and against Lance it definitely sucked buuuut it could actually go toe-to-toe with the level 50 Dragonite as long as it didn't Outrage since Arbok lived a Hyper Beam and Screech - Sludge Bomb - Sludge Bomb won without procing healing.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the test left me perplexed. I still think D is mostly where it should be but at the same time it very often felt better than Quagsire, and I'm definitely not nomming that to drop. At the end of the day tho, the fact that you need to baby it so much after being caught (even more than its Red counterpart) and that you need two big TMs in Sludge Bomb and Earthquake are leaning me more towards D, but I definitely encourage people to look past its ugly start and try it because Screech is a very fun move against aces even if it's not great for sweeping. And Sludge Bomb is amazing as always.

:wooper: Wooper is all over the place but ultimately C. It's terrible upon capture outside of killing rocks, but Quagsire comes just in time for Whitney. I don't recommend using Dig because Miltank will spam Milk Drink, however with Rollout it just wins unless it gets haxed because Tank can't beat you fast enough. Morty is another good matchup (again, Dig isn't great because you're slower and get Cursed but Rollout is better) but then Chuck and Pryce aren't very good, with Jasmine being a clear win. Clair is sadly not good because you can't reliably set up Amnesia since you're gonna get super weakened if you don't heal, and if you try to use it against Kingdra any prior damage puts Quag in 2HKO range from Surf + Hyper Beam. You do technically beat the three Dragonair or Kingdra one-on-one by Spamming EQ but you'll lose more often than not. Will is against a tricky matchup because you only outspeed Slowbro so you'll be taking a lot of Psychics to the face. Koga is better outside of the ace but Bruno you fail against both Lee and Champ. Against Karen you can potentially beat both Umbreon + Houndoom (+ Gengar) as long as the cat didn't hax you much, and against Lance you can beat Aero and either Charizard or a Dnite as long as they Hyper Beam first.
Quag doesn't seem to sweep much but its lategame reminds me a lot of Graveler's, where it can pick off certain big threats for the rest of your team. Its much worse early game is alleviated by its good-but-not-great midgame, so at the end of the day C feels like the best fit. Being so slow with not amazing defenses (being pounded by Slam from the Dragonair as I was trying to set up Amnesia was anything but pretty) is the biggest thing holding it back from B.

:lapras: Lapras is a definite B. It takes a pretty big detour to grab but while you're at it you can get both MysticWater and the Rain Dance TM (it learns it at level 43 so too late), so you're basically coming out with a Water-type nuke. It does suck that its first matchup is Chuck where you won't be able to get Thunder unless you sell half your TMs, however both Jasmine and Pryce are decent and its firepower and bulk will keep it just fine until you get Ice Beam—your only other Ice-type option is Icy Wind so until then you're just another Water-type. The Clair matchup is its first amazing matchup, it's so satisfying to click a button and watch things fold. Its Elite Four is not that great, Will and Koga are fine but Bruno is bad and Karen is also pretty rough due to Umbreon haxing and Gengar Cursing. You can beat Houndoom one-on-one despite the Fire neutrality but Murkrow's Faint Attack can put you in 2HKO range so you need to set up rain to KO both plus Vileplume. Against Lance you really get to see the whole power of Ice Beam since the Dragonite just drop, although you will be quite weakened so it's hard to beat the three without healing (you'd basically need a ParalyzeCureBerry and for them to use status moves instead of just Hyper Beaming repeatedly). Gyarados is also very inconsiderate and refuses to set up rain for you to KO it with Thunder. In any case, you should beat Gyara + the Blizz Nite + the level 50 Nite fine but anything else is pushing it.
The biggest thing stopping it from being A is the speed lategame, otherwise the power of STAB Ice Beam would more than make up for the big detour to get it early. The Thunder TM should be available right before Pryce, not earlier.

Sorry for the long post but this was a fun one, with a combination of stuff I had only used a couple times in the past + Arbok which I'd never tried before. Can't believe it ended up looking like a half-decent team!

Edit: As I said in an earlier post I still plan on using stuff like Qwilfish and Vileplume so I might do some more tests in the future. It's hard to find stuff that actually needs testing since Ryota was so thorough but I have a few mons in mind.
 
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Sorry for the absence. IRL comes first as does any other personal issues I may have. This thread has been pretty busy since I last looked and will get on to talking about all of them if I see any issues.

Speaking of an issue aegon the unlikely

You violated the X Item Rule in the OP. As such, I will be invalidating your Espeon Log. As the rule states, they are not allowed as they can give an unnatural advantage. Even if I were to not invalidate it, what you have shown is BY FAR not an efficient way to use this Pokemon, buying 114 X Items and going to the lenght of getting the money to accomplish this Pre Morty. You entered the realm of competitive Gen 2 to get a HP Type you needed, in this scenario, Dark. Granted I am not sure if you SR to get those DVs you needed.

Yes, I am prepared to be flamed for such a decision, nothing new to me. However, the Rule is in the OP in bold and it is the testers job to make sure they read and understand the rules of the testing for this thread.
The X Items were only used to boost Eevee's Happiness before (and outside of) battles for tiering purposes, not inside those battles. Yes, I did SR to get those DVs I needed, little different from soft resetting to get a Friend Ball to actually catch Tauros successfully. You only need two specific DVs/stats to max out, nothing more. HP Dark isn't even that much stronger than Bite to the point it would have changed many matchups, it just gave me a way to hit Morty and the Rival super-effectively pre-Bite. In other words, HP Dark doesn't even matter post-Morty in the game, Bite does enough.
 
The X Items were only used to boost Eevee's Happiness before (and outside of) battles for tiering purposes, not inside those battles. Yes, I did SR to get those DVs I needed, little different from soft resetting to get a Friend Ball to actually catch Tauros successfully. You only need two specific DVs/stats to max out, nothing more. HP Dark isn't even that much stronger than Bite to the point it would have changed many matchups, it just gave me a way to hit Morty and the Rival super-effectively pre-Bite. In other words, HP Dark doesn't even matter post-Morty in the game, Bite does enough.
Enough with Tauros. Just stop. A lot of your comparisons are towards Tauros as of late. Let it rest. I'm getting very tired of you taking jabs at it when it clearly does not need to be said. The point is that the run is still invalidated as X Items are banned from testing. This is stated in the OP. There is no wiggle room for this. X-Items are not allowed in any run.
 

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