In-battle formes
Strategies
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Overview
Lapras is a potent special attacker backed up by solid bulk and a good variety of coverage and utility moves, such as access to Blizzard and Sing. While it faces strong competition from other Pokemon with similar coverage, such as Starmie, its combination of power and bulk, as well as access to Sing, gives Lapras a unique set of qualities that give it an important niche in the metagame. Access to STAB Blizzard, as well as Thunderbolt, enables it to hit almost every Pokemon in the game for at least neutral damage, making it quite difficult to switch into. Its Speed is just enough to get by Chansey as well, allowing it to potentially put it to sleep one-on-one. It also has positive matchups against Tauros and Snorlax, two of the strongest Pokemon in the metagame, which can be crucial in many instances.
However, Lapras is bogged down by some flaws. Lapras's typing leaves it with a weakness to Thunderbolt and neutrality to Psychic, which often makes it easy to wear down with Pokemon like Starmie and Alakazam running around. It also struggles mightily against Chansey if it can't put it to sleep, which stonewalls it with its incredible bulk. Regardless, Lapras holds a niche in RBY OU, and it sees success on quite a few teams.
Standard
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Blizzard is Lapras's most powerful attack, allowing it to deal heavy damage to anything that doesn't possess either huge special bulk or a resistance to Ice. Thunderbolt allows Lapras to hit Water-types, giving it the ability to muscle through paralyzed Starmie, which would otherwise be a poor matchup. In the third slot, Hyper Beam is Lapras's best bet to finish off Pokemon with a high Special but low Defense, such as Chansey and Alakazam, which are otherwise good answers to Lapras; however, Body Slam may be preferred, as it gives Lapras the ability to somewhat reliably paralyze opposing Starmie. The last slot is usually Sing, a move that provides great utility and scares off Pokemon that would otherwise function as great Lapras answers, with Chansey usually being the main target. Its low accuracy can be unfortunate, as Lapras doesn't have easy ways to shrug off any status or damage that may come its way, so misses can be particularly devastating. If the sleep move is not necessary, you may opt to run Confuse Ray instead, which is Lapras's best shot at powering through paralyzed special walls.
When using Lapras, you should first figure out a plan to take care of Chansey, as it can shrug off Blizzard quite easily. Snorlax's Self-Destruct and Exeggutor's Explosion are usually the best ways to achieve this, as your opponent should be able to preserve their Chansey quite easily by simply switching out if you try to defeat it via repeated Ice Beams, PP stalling, or strong physical attacks. However, it is still possible for Lapras to pressure Chansey via Sing, so if you cannot find an opportunity to threaten it via Explosion, you can still rely on Sing to get the job done. Non-paralyzed Starmie and Alakazam are both answers to Lapras as well, threatening to shut it down with Thunder Wave, as they are simply able to use Recover until Lapras is fully paralyzed. If running Body Slam, you should attempt to predict their entrance and hit them with it; should you manage to paralyze them, Lapras will outspeed them and be much harder to stop. Lapras has great potential to create significant advantages between access to Sing and strong matchups against very popular Pokemon such as Tauros, Snorlax, and Rhydon, but its checks must be taken care of before it can have any impact on the game.
Other Options
Ice Beam is an alternative STAB option to use in place of Blizzard, but the lack of power is really noticeable and generally not worth the extra accuracy and PP. Rest and Reflect can be used in conjunction to give Lapras much appreciated survivability to answer threats such as Tauros more reliably throughout the game, but the set is easy to pressure via powerful special attacks, particularly Psychic- or Electric-type ones, and the lack of offensive pressure makes it a risky and generally undesirable pick.
Checks and Counters
Chansey: Lapras struggles immensely in attempting to break through Chansey. It can easily Soft-Boiled away any damage taken and force Lapras out with the threat of Thunder Wave. Lapras may attempt to put it to sleep with Sing, but the move is inaccurate, somewhat predictable, and completely useless against a paralyzed Chansey.
Zapdos and Jolteon: While Lapras's Blizzard respectively 2HKOes and 3HKOes these Pokemon, team structures that include Lapras generally leave themselves very vulnerable to Electric-type attacks, which Zapdos and Jolteon can easily exploit and punish with powerful Thunderbolts. It may even be preferable to sacrifice Lapras in a one-on-one scenario just to get some chip damage on Zapdos in particular, but the same cannot be said for Jolteon, which should nearly always have the upper hand against Lapras and only fears a potential Body Slam paralysis.
Starmie and Alakazam: If they are not paralyzed, these two Pokemon can tank any hit Lapras throws at them and Recover off the damage easily while threatening it with Thunder Wave. All Lapras needs to turn the tides on them is paralysis and some correct predictions.
Amnesia Snorlax: Although it takes a while to get going and has to worry about Sing, Snorlax doesn't take much damage from any of Lapras's attacks after one or two Amnesia boosts and can retaliate with Body Slam. Although it is unlikely Amnesia Snorlax would be used as a switch-in, it dominates one-on-one.
