Green Bull tears your wings off and eats them for lunch
Overview
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Tauros sports an impressive base 110 Speed stat, which allows it to outspeed some of the fastest offensive threats in NU, such as Pyroar, Liepard, Typhlosion, and Scyther. With its unique combination of high Speed and great coverage backed by Sheer Force, Tauros sets itself apart from other offensive Normal-types. Tauros provides great offensive pressure because of its pure Normal-typing; there are very few types that are immune to or resist Normal-type moves. Despite Tauros's susceptibility to all entry hazards and lack of resistances, it sports some fairly impressive bulk uninvested and can typically switch into a neutral attack if needed.
Life Orb Attacker
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name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Rock Climb
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Rock Slide / Zen Headbutt
ability: Sheer Force
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Naive
Moves
========
Rock Climb is used over Return and Double-Edge because of the Sheer Force boost, which brings it to about the same base power as Double-Edge, but without the recoil although having a 15% chance to miss. Earthquake hits Rock- and Steel-types, such as Regirock and Klinklang, which resist Rock Climb. Fire Blast lets Tauros get past physically defensive Mawile and bulky Grass-types such as Tangela, Gourgeist-XL, and Ferroseed. Rock Slide grants Tauros neutral coverage against Ghost-types with Levitate, reliably 2HKOes Pelipper and physically defensive Rotom-S, and OHKOes Archeops and Scyther. Zen Headbutt provides slightly stronger neutral coverage against Ghost-types while giving Tauros the ability to 2HKO Vileplume and even Weezing after Stealth Rock damage. Zen Headbutt is also useful for hitting Fighting-types harder than Rock Climb.
Set Details
========
Tauros hits a very important Speed tier, so running any less than maximum Speed investment will cause it to drop behind Archeops, other Tauros, and even Jumpluff. To perform well, Tauros needs as much Attack as it can get. Life Orb complements this set because Sheer Force negates Life Orb recoil for any attacks that have a secondary effect, so Tauros can have high powered attacks with no recoil.
Usage Tips
========
Tauros is at its strongest near the end of the game when all of its switch-ins are weakened. Typically, Tauros is responsible for finishing off the game, so removing anything that's faster and weakening anything that can take a hit is encouraged. Due to a combination of its high Speed and powerful attacks, Tauros is a very effective revenge killer mid-game for slower offensive threats and weakened bulky threats. Despite having a notably large damage output, Tauros is not a wallbreaker. When using Tauros, you will find it often misses out on a lot of OHKOs against bulkier Pokemon, even with the right super effective coverage. During the mid-game, Tauros is very adept at pressuring your opponent with its impressive power and coverage. While Tauros probably won't be picking up a lot of KOs, it will be weakening its switch-ins for the late-game.
Team Options
========
Offensive Normal-types, such as Kangaskhan, Swellow, and Zangoose, are great partners for Tauros, because your opponent repeatedly bringing in their defensive Rock- or Ghost-types will wear them down to the point where Tauros or one of its teammates can spam powerful attacks with no safe switch-ins. Also, these teammates can bring special coverage moves to wear these switch-ins down; Aqua Tail Kangaskhan and Hidden Power Grass Choice Specs Swellow hit Tauros's common switch-ins very hard. Bulky Psychic-types such as Claydol and Mesprit can switch into bulky Fighting-types, such as Gurdurr and Hariyama, which Tauros cannot knock out at full health. Claydol is also notable because of its ability to support Tauros by removing entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Offensive Dark-types, such as Liepard and Sneasel, make great teammates for Tauros because they are able to easily KO or Pursuit trap Ghost-types that prevent Tauros from spamming its Normal-type STAB moves.
Other Options
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Pursuit damages and KOes frail Ghost- and Psychic-types, such as Rotom, Haunter, Jynx, and Mesprit, upon switching out. Water Pulse hits offensive and physically defensive Rhydon for more damage compared to Earthquake. With a Choice Scarf, Tauros can outspeed every other relevant Choice Scarf user in the NU tier. However, Tauros is substantially weaker without a Life Orb. A Substitute and Endeavor set can be used to lure in any hard counters to Tauros, such as Quagsire, Rhydon, and Regirock, and bring them down as low as one HP.
Checks & Counters
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**Bulky Rock-types**: Rhydon, Regirock, and defensive Carracosta can switch into Tauros comfortably, only taking around a third of their health from Earthquake at the worst. However, all these Pokemon can be whittled down because of their lack of recovery.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Most physically defensive Pokemon that aren't weak to Tauros's coverage moves can usually take it on and threaten it in a variety of ways. Pokemon such as Mega Audino, Musharna, and Quagsire are especially threatening to Tauros because they have reliable recovery and can't be weakened as effectively.
**Status**: Paralyzing, burning, and poisoning Tauros makes its job more difficult. Tauros heavily relies on its Speed, Attack, and even HP to properly finish games.
**Priority and Faster Pokemon**: Tauros depends a lot on its Speed to do its job effectively. That being said, if another Pokemon can move before Tauros, it has the potential to weaken, cripple, or potentially even KO Tauros. Choice Scarf users such as Rotom and Mesprit, priority attackers such as Kangaskhan and Hariyama, and the rare Pokemon with a higher base Speed stat such as Sneasel, Swellow, and Zebstrika all have the ability to hit Tauros first.
Overview
########
Tauros sports an impressive base 110 Speed stat, which allows it to outspeed some of the fastest offensive threats in NU, such as Pyroar, Liepard, Typhlosion, and Scyther. With its unique combination of high Speed and great coverage backed by Sheer Force, Tauros sets itself apart from other offensive Normal-types. Tauros provides great offensive pressure because of its pure Normal-typing; there are very few types that are immune to or resist Normal-type moves. Despite Tauros's susceptibility to all entry hazards and lack of resistances, it sports some fairly impressive bulk uninvested and can typically switch into a neutral attack if needed.
Life Orb Attacker
########
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Rock Climb
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Fire Blast
move 4: Rock Slide / Zen Headbutt
ability: Sheer Force
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Naive
Moves
========
Rock Climb is used over Return and Double-Edge because of the Sheer Force boost, which brings it to about the same base power as Double-Edge, but without the recoil although having a 15% chance to miss. Earthquake hits Rock- and Steel-types, such as Regirock and Klinklang, which resist Rock Climb. Fire Blast lets Tauros get past physically defensive Mawile and bulky Grass-types such as Tangela, Gourgeist-XL, and Ferroseed. Rock Slide grants Tauros neutral coverage against Ghost-types with Levitate, reliably 2HKOes Pelipper and physically defensive Rotom-S, and OHKOes Archeops and Scyther. Zen Headbutt provides slightly stronger neutral coverage against Ghost-types while giving Tauros the ability to 2HKO Vileplume and even Weezing after Stealth Rock damage. Zen Headbutt is also useful for hitting Fighting-types harder than Rock Climb.
Set Details
========
Tauros hits a very important Speed tier, so running any less than maximum Speed investment will cause it to drop behind Archeops, other Tauros, and even Jumpluff. To perform well, Tauros needs as much Attack as it can get. Life Orb complements this set because Sheer Force negates Life Orb recoil for any attacks that have a secondary effect, so Tauros can have high powered attacks with no recoil.
Usage Tips
========
Tauros is at its strongest near the end of the game when all of its switch-ins are weakened. Typically, Tauros is responsible for finishing off the game, so removing anything that's faster and weakening anything that can take a hit is encouraged. Due to a combination of its high Speed and powerful attacks, Tauros is a very effective revenge killer mid-game for slower offensive threats and weakened bulky threats. Despite having a notably large damage output, Tauros is not a wallbreaker. When using Tauros, you will find it often misses out on a lot of OHKOs against bulkier Pokemon, even with the right super effective coverage. During the mid-game, Tauros is very adept at pressuring your opponent with its impressive power and coverage. While Tauros probably won't be picking up a lot of KOs, it will be weakening its switch-ins for the late-game.
Team Options
========
Offensive Normal-types, such as Kangaskhan, Swellow, and Zangoose, are great partners for Tauros, because your opponent repeatedly bringing in their defensive Rock- or Ghost-types will wear them down to the point where Tauros or one of its teammates can spam powerful attacks with no safe switch-ins. Also, these teammates can bring special coverage moves to wear these switch-ins down; Aqua Tail Kangaskhan and Hidden Power Grass Choice Specs Swellow hit Tauros's common switch-ins very hard. Bulky Psychic-types such as Claydol and Mesprit can switch into bulky Fighting-types, such as Gurdurr and Hariyama, which Tauros cannot knock out at full health. Claydol is also notable because of its ability to support Tauros by removing entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Offensive Dark-types, such as Liepard and Sneasel, make great teammates for Tauros because they are able to easily KO or Pursuit trap Ghost-types that prevent Tauros from spamming its Normal-type STAB moves.
Other Options
########
Pursuit damages and KOes frail Ghost- and Psychic-types, such as Rotom, Haunter, Jynx, and Mesprit, upon switching out. Water Pulse hits offensive and physically defensive Rhydon for more damage compared to Earthquake. With a Choice Scarf, Tauros can outspeed every other relevant Choice Scarf user in the NU tier. However, Tauros is substantially weaker without a Life Orb. A Substitute and Endeavor set can be used to lure in any hard counters to Tauros, such as Quagsire, Rhydon, and Regirock, and bring them down as low as one HP.
Checks & Counters
########
**Bulky Rock-types**: Rhydon, Regirock, and defensive Carracosta can switch into Tauros comfortably, only taking around a third of their health from Earthquake at the worst. However, all these Pokemon can be whittled down because of their lack of recovery.
**Physically Defensive Pokemon**: Most physically defensive Pokemon that aren't weak to Tauros's coverage moves can usually take it on and threaten it in a variety of ways. Pokemon such as Mega Audino, Musharna, and Quagsire are especially threatening to Tauros because they have reliable recovery and can't be weakened as effectively.
**Status**: Paralyzing, burning, and poisoning Tauros makes its job more difficult. Tauros heavily relies on its Speed, Attack, and even HP to properly finish games.
**Priority and Faster Pokemon**: Tauros depends a lot on its Speed to do its job effectively. That being said, if another Pokemon can move before Tauros, it has the potential to weaken, cripple, or potentially even KO Tauros. Choice Scarf users such as Rotom and Mesprit, priority attackers such as Kangaskhan and Hariyama, and the rare Pokemon with a higher base Speed stat such as Sneasel, Swellow, and Zebstrika all have the ability to hit Tauros first.
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