Generation 2 OU (GSC) — Singles Format Reference
GSC OU is the franchise's most defensive metagame. The seven core walls — Snorlax, Skarmory, Tyranitar, Cloyster, Vaporeon, Zapdos, Marowak — appear on almost every team. Games run long, switches dominate over attacks, and matches frequently exceed 50 turns.
Cartridge
Gold / Silver / Crystal
Type
6v6 Singles
Status
Frozen tier · 25+ years played
Era
Defensive meta peak
A GSC game is rarely won by hitting harder than the opponent. It's won by switching better, stalling longer, and earning the chip damage that eventually breaks a wall.
At a glance
GSC OU is a stripped-down format. No abilities (introduced Gen 3). No natures. No EVs (replaced by stat experience). Held items just arrived as a system. Every customisation lever later gens added — they don't exist yet here.
The result is structural simplicity that produced one of the franchise's most refined competitive formats. GSC OU has been actively played for over 25 years. Smogon Tour, Smogon Premier League, and the World Cup all run GSC OU continuously.
- Format type6v6 Singles, all six brought to battle
- MechanicsSteel + Dark types (intro), held items (intro), Special split (intro), no abilities
- StatusFrozen — meta stable since Gen 3 succession
- Where it's playedPokémon Showdown ladder + retro tournaments. Live tier page: /gsc/ou.
- Sister formatsUbers (above), UU (below)
Format rules
GSC OU applies the standard Smogon Singles clauses (formalised in ADV but applied retroactively). The format is structurally simpler than later gens — fewer abilities to ban, no Megas to restrict.
| Clause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Sleep Clause | Only one opposing Pokémon may be put to sleep at a time. |
| Species Clause | Each team can only carry one of any given species. |
| Evasion Clause | Evasion-boosting moves are banned. |
| OHKO Clause | Sheer Cold, Fissure, Horn Drill, Guillotine are banned. |
| Endless Battle Clause | Battle states that cannot end are forbidden. |
| Sleep Counter rule | Persists across switches in Gen 2 (rule changed in Gen 5). |
| No abilities | Abilities don't exist yet. No Mega Clause / Z-Move Clause needed. |
Banlist
GSC OU's banlist is small. Few Gen 2 additions are banned outright; the format's competitive constraints come from the meta itself, not from ban-list policing.
Notable GSC OU bans
| Pokémon | Why it was banned |
|---|---|
| Mewtwo | 154 SpA + 130 Spe + universal coverage. Permanent Ubers from Gen 1 onward. |
| Lugia | 106/130/90/154/154/110 + Recover. Permanent Ubers. |
| Ho-Oh | 106/130/90/110/154/90 + Sacred Fire (Fire-type, 50% burn chance). Permanent Ubers. |
| Celebi | Initially banned to Ubers in some sub-cycles for Calm Mind + Recover; eventually returned to OU. |
| Mew | Universal coverage + 100 stats across the board. Permanent Ubers. |
| Marowak | Suspect-tested for  Thick Club + Earthquake wallbreaking. Stayed in OU due to 80 base Speed limiting its sweep potential. |
| Cloyster | Suspect-tested for Spikes + Explosion suicide-lead patterns. Stayed in OU; defining Spikes setter. |
The seven walls
GSC OU is defined by its seven core defensive Pokémon. Almost every game features all seven, and the meta is structurally about which walls answer which threats — not about offensive ceilings.
Snorlax: 160/110/65/65/110/30. Most-used Pokémon in GSC OU. Curse + Rest + Body Slam + Earthquake = slow setup wincon. Choice-Band-equivalent variants (no Choice Band yet) run Body Slam + Hyper Beam + Earthquake + Self-Destruct.
Skarmory: 65/80/140/40/70/70. Spikes + Whirlwind + Drill Peck + Rest. The format's premier physical wall and hazard setter.
Tyranitar: 100/134/110/95/100/61. Pre-Sand-Stream (the ability arrives in Gen 3). Crunch + Earthquake + Pursuit+ Rock Slide. The era's defining Pursuit trapper.
Cloyster: 50/95/180/85/45/70. Spikes + Explosion + Surf + Toxic. The format's primary suicide-lead Spikes setter.
Vaporeon: 130/65/60/110/95/65. Surf + Roar + Rest + Sleep Talk / Wish (no Wish in Gen 2 yet — Gen 3 addition). Defining special wall — elite SpD bulk after the split made Vaporeon a near-unbreakable Water-type tank.
Zapdos: 90/90/85/125/90/100. Thunder + Drill Peck + Hidden Power Ice + Rest / Sleep Talk. Defining Electric-type special wallbreaker; 100 base Speed sits on a key tier.
Marowak: 60/80/110/50/80/45 + Thick Clubdoubles Atk to effective 380 base. Earthquake + Rock Slide + Hidden Power Bug + Swords Dance. The era's most-discussed offensive Pokémon — suspect-tested but stayed in OU.
Steelix: 75/85/200/55/65/30. Iron Tail + Earthquake + Roar + Rest. Common 8th wall slot when teams swap out of Marowak or Cloyster.
Archetypes
GSC OU's archetypes lean defensive. Pure offense is harder to pull off than in later generations because Choice Band, Life Orb, and Mega Evolution don't exist yet. Most teams are balance or stall, with offensive cores supported by walls.
Aggressive
Hyper Offense
Six offensive Pokémon. Niche in GSC OU. Possible build: Cloyster Spikes + Explosion lead, Marowak Swords Dance, Tyranitar Dragon Dance, Heracross Megahorn, offensive support.
Balance
Snorlax + 5
Snorlax Curse + 5 supporting Pokémon. The most-played GSC OU build. Skarm-Bliss-equivalent core (Skarmory + special wall) anchors the defensive backbone.
Defensive
Stall
Six defensive Pokémon. Defining stall: Snorlax + Skarmory + Cloyster Spikes + Steelix + Vaporeon + Zapdos. Toxic + RestTalk + Spikes chip wins games over 50+ turns.
Specialty
CurseLax Bulk
Slow setup-wincon teams. SnorlaxCurse + Rest + Body Slam + Earthquake / Hidden Power Bug. The era's archetypal slow wincon.
Specialty
Belly Drum
Snorlax Belly Drum + Rest + Body Slam + Earthquake. Niche but uniquely powerful in GSC due to the lack of priority and revenge-killing options.
Specialty
Spikes Stack
Cloyster + Forretress double Spikes setter. Spikes deal 1/8 max HP per layer (single-layer in Gen 2, stacking arrives in Gen 3 — wait, stacking is from Gen 3 onward, so GSC has only 1 layer = 12.5%). Sustained chip via switching forces.
The seven team roles
The seven structural roles map onto GSC OU even though the framework was articulated later. Many roles are filled by the same wall — GSC roles compress more than later gens.
Defining setters: Cloyster (suicide lead Spikes + Explosion), Skarmory (Spikes + Whirlwind), Forretress (Spikes + Reversal).
Rapid Spin introduced in Gen 2. Defining spinners: Cloyster (Rapid Spin + Surf), Forretress(Sturdy + Rapid Spin). No spinblockers (Levitate doesn't exist yet — Gen 3 addition).
Body Slam (30% paralysis) on most physical Pokémon is the format's primary speed control. Thunder Wave on Zapdos / Raikou. Choice Scarf / priority moves don't exist yet.
Defining cleric: Miltank (Heal Bell + Body Slam + Curse + Rest). Heal Bell+ Soft-Boiled / Wish (Wish is Gen 3) was the franchise's first universal cleric pattern.
U-turn arrives in Gen 4. GSC pivots: Celebi Baton Pass + Recover, Espeon Baton Pass + setup.
What makes GSC OU different
GSC OU is the franchise's most defensive metagame. Without abilities, Choice Band, Life Orb, or Megas, the offensive ceiling is structurally lower than every later format.
✓
Steel + Dark intro
Type chart expansion
✗
Abilities
Don't exist yet (Gen 3)
✗
Choice Band
Doesn't exist yet (Gen 3)
- No abilities — every Pokémon's competitive identity is determined by typing, stats, moveset, and held item alone. Defensive Pokémon don't fear ability-amplified offence.
- Held items minimal — Leftovers is universal; Berry items are niche; the offensive item set (Choice Band, Life Orb) doesn't exist yet.
- RestTalk dominant — Rest + Sleep Talk lets defensive Pokémon heal AND attack on the same turns. Defining stall pattern.
- Pursuit trapping — Pursuit on Tyranitar / Houndoom doubled in power against switching targets. Trapping psychic-types and lat-twins (which arrive Gen 3).
- Sleep counter persists — sleep-stalled Pokémon stay asleep across switches. Lovely Kiss, Spore, and Sleep Powder are correspondingly devastating.
How to get started
GSC OU has 25+ years of tournament archive. The format is well-documented and stable. Pokémon analyses are exhaustive.
- Read Smogon's GSC OU tier page — banlist locked, analyses final, decades of community wisdom.
- Build around Snorlax — most GSC OU teams revolve around Snorlax. CurseLax + Skarmory + special wall + Spikes setter is the canonical four-Pokémon spine.
- Add Tyranitar or a Steel/Special core — Tyranitar Pursuit trapper covers Psychic threats and Marowak Thick Club gives offense a high-Atk option.
- Copy a sample team — Smogon's vetted GSC OU samples are stable and well-documented.
- Ladder Pokémon Showdown — GSC OU has an active retro ladder. Tournament play continues via Smogon Tour and SPL.
Where to go from here
The above is the static reference for GSC OU. Live frozen-tier data lives in the rest of Pokékipe.
- Live tier data — /gsc/ou for GSC OU usage and Pokémon stats.
- Mechanics — Gen 2 — Gold & Silver covers Steel/Dark types, the Special split, held items, and breeding.
- Adjacent formats — ADV OU covers the foundational era that succeeded GSC. RBY OU covers the original format.
- Tournament history — Timeline tracks Smogon Tour and SPL GSC OU results.