RBY Little Cup: Rules and Tiers
Sept 19, 2010 12:26:31 GMT -8
Post by Zilch on Sept 19, 2010 12:26:31 GMT -8
Want a break from the standard level 100 metagames? Then give Little Cup a try! Just what is Little Cup, though? Originally, it was a mode in Stadium 2 where you battled with level 5 Pokemon only. They got the majority of their moves via TM/HM or through breeding. While RBY has no breeding system, that doesn't mean you can't battle on NBS! The rules are simple:
In keeping with the traditions of the other metagames, here is a tier list for Little Cup:
OverUsed
Abra
Clefairy
Diglett
Doduo
Exeggcute
Gastly
Geodude
Grimer
Koffing
Meowth
Pikachu
Poliwag
Ponyta
Rhyhorn
Shellder
Staryu
Voltorb
BorderLine
Bellsprout
Bulbasaur
Charmander
Dratini
Drowzee
Eevee
Growlithe
Horsea
Kabuto
Krabby
Machop
Magnemite
Mankey
Omanyte
Paras
Pidgey
Psyduck
Rattata
Sandshrew
Seel
Slowpoke
Spearow
Squirtle
Tentacool
Vulpix
UnderUsed
Caterpie
Cubone
Ekans
Goldeen
Jigglypuff
Magikarp
Nidoran F
Nidoran M
Venonat
Weedle
Zubat
You might notice a theme with the OU tier: most of the Pokemon there belong to a two-stage evolutionary family rather than a three-stage. With one less evolution to go through, their stats are generally higher than their three-stage bretheren.
If you didn't know before, you'll know now: Little Cup is ALL about speed. The majority of OUs have high speed stats, and the ones that don't have another niche they can fill. In fact, every Pokemon with 17 speed or higher (with the notable exception of Magikarp) are OUs. Some Pokemon were bumped to a lower tier simply because they get outrun by their hard-hitting counters. This also means that speed ties are fairly common, so a big luck element is added to the metagame. Unless you have Thunder Wave or another means of paralysis handy, or the incredible Quick Attack, better hope fortune is on your side!
Speaking of Quick Attack, it's one of the most valuable moves in LC and can net you an extra kill if used at the right moment. Something almost dead and you're worred about a speed tie? Quick Attack it to death! It's also useful for inflicting a bit of spite damage if your Pokemon is about to die and you don't want to switch. Quick Attack is THE reason Pidgey isn't stuck in the UU tier. It also makes Rattata and Eevee quite viable for OU battling since they also have the luxury of STAB on their Quick Attacks. Always consider Quick Attack on any Pokemon that learns it.
While I'm on the topic of speed, Agility is also a valuable move for things like Pikachu and Doduo, allowing them to nullify speed ties or even provide a means around paralysis (if you're paralyzed, using Agility still bumps your speed up as though paralysis never happened).
With such low stats, everyone becomes vulnerable to Explosion. More often than not, you'll see Explosion scoring KOs left and right. Gastly can nullify a boom if you predict well, and Rhyhorn and Geodude take them very well. Wasting an Explosion on Gastly can be very painful in Little Cup since there's not much room for error. All the exploders are in the OU tier, so how do you build your team? Do you only use a couple, or do you stock your team with exploders and try to take the opponent out by force? It's risky, but spectacular if you can pull it off!
If you're trying to battle on NetBattle Supremacy, do note that critical hits don't function the way they're advertised. Normally you'd expect them to do 2x damage, but here, that's not true. For example: Mankey's Thunderbolt normally does 13-16 damage to Seel, yet a critical hits for 19-22 - not enough to OHKO it. That's not to say you shouldn't use Slash on Meowth since that's still his best move, as with Krabby and Crabhammer, but it makes Karate Chop a poor option for Mankey and Machop. Stick with Body Slam for those two.
The UU tier is more like a garbage bin for Pokemon who just can't get it done anywhere else. I'd say the best UU Pokemon are Goldeen, Venonat and Nidoran M, but good luck trying to use them in a serious battle. Use UUs only if you want to play a silly metagame, or if you feel really lucky.
Anyway, that's it. Discuss here if you feel a Pokemon should be bumped up or down. Now go and battle!
- All Pokemon are level 5
- Unevolved, first stage evolutions only. Staryu and Abra are okay; Mr. Mime and Porygon are not
- Ditto is banned, so don't get smart and try to use him
- SonicBoom and Dragon Rage (instant OHKO on all Pokemon) are banned
- Unless agreed beforehand, wrapping moves, Minimize and Double Team are still banned
In keeping with the traditions of the other metagames, here is a tier list for Little Cup:
OverUsed
Abra
Clefairy
Diglett
Doduo
Exeggcute
Gastly
Geodude
Grimer
Koffing
Meowth
Pikachu
Poliwag
Ponyta
Rhyhorn
Shellder
Staryu
Voltorb
BorderLine
Bellsprout
Bulbasaur
Charmander
Dratini
Drowzee
Eevee
Growlithe
Horsea
Kabuto
Krabby
Machop
Magnemite
Mankey
Omanyte
Paras
Pidgey
Psyduck
Rattata
Sandshrew
Seel
Slowpoke
Spearow
Squirtle
Tentacool
Vulpix
UnderUsed
Caterpie
Cubone
Ekans
Goldeen
Jigglypuff
Magikarp
Nidoran F
Nidoran M
Venonat
Weedle
Zubat
You might notice a theme with the OU tier: most of the Pokemon there belong to a two-stage evolutionary family rather than a three-stage. With one less evolution to go through, their stats are generally higher than their three-stage bretheren.
If you didn't know before, you'll know now: Little Cup is ALL about speed. The majority of OUs have high speed stats, and the ones that don't have another niche they can fill. In fact, every Pokemon with 17 speed or higher (with the notable exception of Magikarp) are OUs. Some Pokemon were bumped to a lower tier simply because they get outrun by their hard-hitting counters. This also means that speed ties are fairly common, so a big luck element is added to the metagame. Unless you have Thunder Wave or another means of paralysis handy, or the incredible Quick Attack, better hope fortune is on your side!
Speaking of Quick Attack, it's one of the most valuable moves in LC and can net you an extra kill if used at the right moment. Something almost dead and you're worred about a speed tie? Quick Attack it to death! It's also useful for inflicting a bit of spite damage if your Pokemon is about to die and you don't want to switch. Quick Attack is THE reason Pidgey isn't stuck in the UU tier. It also makes Rattata and Eevee quite viable for OU battling since they also have the luxury of STAB on their Quick Attacks. Always consider Quick Attack on any Pokemon that learns it.
While I'm on the topic of speed, Agility is also a valuable move for things like Pikachu and Doduo, allowing them to nullify speed ties or even provide a means around paralysis (if you're paralyzed, using Agility still bumps your speed up as though paralysis never happened).
With such low stats, everyone becomes vulnerable to Explosion. More often than not, you'll see Explosion scoring KOs left and right. Gastly can nullify a boom if you predict well, and Rhyhorn and Geodude take them very well. Wasting an Explosion on Gastly can be very painful in Little Cup since there's not much room for error. All the exploders are in the OU tier, so how do you build your team? Do you only use a couple, or do you stock your team with exploders and try to take the opponent out by force? It's risky, but spectacular if you can pull it off!
If you're trying to battle on NetBattle Supremacy, do note that critical hits don't function the way they're advertised. Normally you'd expect them to do 2x damage, but here, that's not true. For example: Mankey's Thunderbolt normally does 13-16 damage to Seel, yet a critical hits for 19-22 - not enough to OHKO it. That's not to say you shouldn't use Slash on Meowth since that's still his best move, as with Krabby and Crabhammer, but it makes Karate Chop a poor option for Mankey and Machop. Stick with Body Slam for those two.
The UU tier is more like a garbage bin for Pokemon who just can't get it done anywhere else. I'd say the best UU Pokemon are Goldeen, Venonat and Nidoran M, but good luck trying to use them in a serious battle. Use UUs only if you want to play a silly metagame, or if you feel really lucky.
Anyway, that's it. Discuss here if you feel a Pokemon should be bumped up or down. Now go and battle!