The FireRed/LeafGreen-only Pokemon Metagame Theorycraft

by Doc – Owner, Founder, Does This Count as a Guest Post?

I was on the phone with an old friend of mine the other night, and we got to discussing Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s impending release. He’s a hardcore competitive Pokemon player and has been so for about ten years now, and we got to theorycrafting what the ADV metagame would look like without the Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald and promo Pokemon. In other words, it’s the conditions of what we anticipate FireRed and LeafGreen to be: if it’s not available by trading with another FRLG (we’ll assume its Home compatibility is one-way and events aren’t unlocked), it’s not obtainable. This includes the main games and the Sevii Islands, basically.

Disclaimer: I’m a total noob at competitive Pokemon and he was pretty plastered when he wrote this, but my friend begged me, after he sobered up, to post his predictions on the meta. He’s adamant that Tyranitar and Skarmory are top tier and the two threats that every team must answer, but otherwise maintains no strong positions. We’re also assuming anything banned in ADV OU is still banned. I doubt this format will ever come to fruition anyway. Tyler, you owe me one, buddy.

Here’s what he thinks:

The FireRed/LeafGreen Meta Theorycraft

• Aerodactyl — Choice Band lead/revenge killer. Rock Slide / Double-Edge / Earthquake / Aerial Ace. Fastest physical attacker in the format at 130 base Speed.
• Alakazam — Calm Mind sweeper. Calm Mind / Psychic / Shadow Ball / Fire Punch or Ice Punch. Psychic is dramatically more threatening here with no Dark-types in the Kanto pool.
• Arcanine — Intimidate pivot and priority revenge killer. Flare Blitz or Fire Blast / Extreme Speed / Earthquake / Return or HP Grass. Primary Heracross check.
• Chansey — Special wall. Soft-Boiled / Thunder Wave / Seismic Toss / Ice Beam. Mandatory on most teams — shuts down Starmie, Jolteon, and Alakazam entirely.
• Cloyster — Spikes setter and Rapid Spinner. Spikes / Rapid Spin / Surf / Ice Beam. The only Spikes user other than Skarmory available in the format.
• Donphan — Physical utility. Earthquake / Rock Slide / Rapid Spin / Roar. Niche Rapid Spin option with bulk.
• Dragonite — Dragon Dance sweeper or mixed attacker. Dragon Dance / Earthquake / Aerial Ace / Fire Blast, or mixed Dragon Claw / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt / Fire Blast. Unchecked Dragon Dance duo with Gyarados in the absence of Skarmory.
• Dugtrio — Arena Trap revenge killer. Choice Band: Earthquake / Return / Rock Slide / Aerial Ace. Permanently removes Jolteon, Alakazam, Nidoking, and Rhydon.
• Gengar — Spinblocker and sleep abuser. Hypnosis / Substitute / Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt or Ice Punch. Alternatively Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt / Ice Punch / Destiny Bond. Normal and Fighting immunities are uniquely valuable in a Snorlax-heavy meta.
• Gyarados — Dragon Dance sweeper. Dragon Dance / Return or HP Flying / Earthquake / Taunt. Potentially the most dangerous Pokémon in a Kanto-only format with no Skarmory to check it.
• Heracross — Choice Band mixed attacker. Megahorn / Brick Break / Rock Slide / Sleep Talk or Facade. Guts + Facade punishes status attempts. One of the few Pokémon that threatens Psychic-types with a physical Bug move.
• Hypno — Baton Pass chain piece. Calm Mind / Taunt / Substitute / Baton Pass. Insomnia blocks Sleep Powder and Hypnosis on the switch, making it a safe passer against Venusaur and Gengar.
• Jolteon — Fast Electric pivot and Baton Pass conduit. Thunderbolt / Wish / Substitute / Baton Pass. Volt Absorb switches into opposing Jolteon. Passing a Substitute to Marowak or Snorlax is a potentially game-ending combo.
• Lapras — Bulky Water/Ice attacker. Surf / Ice Beam / Thunderbolt / Psychic or Perish Song. Wide coverage and Perish Song utility, though outpaced by Starmie and Vaporeon in most roles.
• Machamp — Snorlax counter. Choice Band: Cross Chop / Rock Slide / Facade / Sleep Talk. The sole reliable switch-in to RestCurse Snorlax. Guts + Facade punishes status; Sleep Talk absorbs Venusaur’s Sleep Powder.
• Marowak — Thick Club wallbreaker and Baton Pass chain payoff. Earthquake / Double-Edge / Rock Slide / Hidden Power Ghost. With Thick Club, effectively ~756 base Attack equivalent. Receives passed Substitutes or Swords Dances from Jolteon, Vaporeon, or Hypno and is near-impossible to stop.
• Misdreavus — Stall spinblocker. Will-O-Wisp / Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt / Perish Song, or Mean Look / Perish Song / Shadow Ball / Thunderbolt. Enables full stall compositions.
• Moltres — Special attacker. Fire Blast / Hidden Power Grass / Flamethrower / Substitute or Rest. 125 base SpA threatens Steel- and Grass-types simultaneously.
• Nidoking — Mixed attacker with status immunities. Sludge Bomb / Earthquake / Megahorn / Ice Beam or Thunderbolt. Poison/Ground typing grants immunity to both Toxic and Thunder Wave — unique in the format.
• Rhydon — Physical tank and phazer. Earthquake / Rock Slide / Megahorn / Roar. Lightning Rod gives a free Electric immunity. Roar specifically addresses RestCurse Snorlax. Forms a rough defensive core with Gyarados.
• Skarmory — Spikes setter and physical wall. Spikes / Whirlwind / Drill Peck / Toxic or Rest. The foundational stall piece of ADV OU — sets Spikes, forces switches, walls virtually every physical attacker in the format. FireRed only.
• Slowbro — Bulky Water setup sweeper. Curse / Surf / Psychic / Rest or Amnesia / Surf / Psychic / Rest. Stronger physical tank than Vaporeon but lacks reliable recovery.
• Snorlax — Physical wallbreaker and special tank. RestCurse: Curse / Body Slam / Shadow Ball / Rest. Offensive: Focus Punch / Body Slam / Shadow Ball / Self-Destruct. Thick Fat absorbs Ice and Fire coverage. Almost nothing in the format switches into it comfortably except Machamp.
• Starmie — Spinner and special attacker. Support: Surf / Thunder Wave / Recover / Rapid Spin. Offensive: Surf / Thunderbolt / Ice Beam / Psychic. The most important Pokémon in the format — best spinner, status absorber via Natural Cure, and offensive threat all in one.
• Tyranitar — Multiple viable sets. Dragon Dance: Dragon Dance / Rock Slide / Earthquake / Fire Blast. Choice Band: Rock Slide / Earthquake / Pursuit / Fire Blast. Mixed TyraniBoah: Substitute / Focus Punch / Rock Slide / Fire Blast. Sand Stream passively chips everything without Leftovers. Pursuit traps Alakazam and Gengar.
• Vaporeon — Physical wall and Wish passer. Wish / Protect / Surf / Acid Armor or Shadow Ball. Water Absorb pivots on opposing Water-types. The most reliable dedicated physical wall in the format.
• Venusaur — Defensive disabler. Sleep Powder / Leech Seed / Giga Drain / Sludge Bomb. Sleep Powder is the most valuable move — sleep is extremely powerful in Gen 3 — and Venusaur is one of the few users available.
• Weezing — Physical wall with Explosion. Will-O-Wisp / Flamethrower / Sludge Bomb / Explosion or Pain Split. Note: Will-O-Wisp availability in FRLG may be restricted depending on format rules.

If this format ever becomes a thing, leave a comment telling Tyler he’s an idiot and what he’s wrong about. Thanks!