Gold, Silver & Crystal — Competitive Reference
Generation 2 introduced Steel and Dark — the franchise's first type chart expansion since Gen 1 — split the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense, and added held items. GSC OU is widely regarded as the franchise's most defensive era.
Released
1999/2000
Region
Johto
Mechanics
Steel + Dark types · Special split
Sequel
Crystal
GSC OU is the most-walls meta in franchise history. Snorlax, Skarmory, Tyranitar, Cloyster, Vaporeon, Zapdos, Marowak — the seven core walls — define every game.
At a glance
Gen 2 added Steel and Dark, split Special into Attack and Defense, and gave Pokémon held items for the first time. Each change tilted the meta toward defense.
Steel walls Dragon, Ice, and Fairy-equivalent moves more reliably than any pre-Gen 2 typing. The Special split made Special-tank Pokémon (Snorlax, Blissey ancestors, Vaporeon) less universally bulky and forced specialisation. Held items added Leftovers — passive 1/16 max HP per turn recovery — making every defensive Pokémon harder to wear down.
- ReleasedNovember 1999 (Japan), October 2000 (US)
- SequelCrystal (2000)
- RegionJohto
- New typesSteel and Dark — first chart expansion since Gen 1
- Stat changeSpecial split into Special Attack and Special Defense
- New mechanicHeld items — Leftovers, Light Ball, Berry items, Quick Claw
- Other additionsBreeding, day/night cycle, friendship/happiness, gender mechanics
- Singles tiersUbers, OU, UU (formal Smogon hierarchy formalised post-Gen 2)
Steel and Dark types
Steel and Dark are Gen 2's structural additions to the type chart — and the only such additions for the next 14 years (until Fairy in Gen 6).
Steel — defensive profile
- Resists 11 types — Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Dragon, Ghost, Dark, Steel. The most defensive typing introduced to that point.
- Weak to Fire, Fighting, Ground
- Immune to Poison (Steel cannot be poisoned)
- Note — Steel resisted Ghost and Dark in Gen 2 onward; that pair of resistances was removed in Gen 6.
Dark — defensive profile
- Resists Ghost, Dark
- Immune to Psychic — the change that ended Gen 1 Psychic dominance.
- Weak to Fighting, Bug
- Super-effective on Psychic, Ghost
The Special split
Gen 1 had a single Special stat used for both special damage output AND special damage absorption. Gen 2 split it into Special Attack and Special Defense — six stats total, the system every gen since has used.
Unified Special
Stats
HP, Attack, Defense, Special, Speed (5 stats)
Special role
Used for both special damage output and special-side bulk.
Consequence
Pokémon with high Special were strong on both sides simultaneously — Mewtwo, Alakazam, Starmie were unstoppable special pivots.
Special Attack / Special Defense split
Stats
HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, Speed (6 stats)
Specialisation
Pokémon now have separate offensive and defensive special profiles. A wallbreaker can be high SpA / low SpD; a wall can be low SpA / high SpD.
Consequence
Stat distributions became diverse — Blissey (255 HP / 10 Atk / 135 SpD) and Mewtwo (154 SpA, 90 SpD) sit at opposite extremes.
Battle mechanics baseline
Gen 2 inherited the Gen 1 engine and patched several oddities — most notably the Ghost/Psychic damage bug — while keeping the broader formulas intact.
1/16
Crit rate
Fixed rate (no longer Speed-tied)
2×
Crit damage
Double damage; reduced to 1.5× in Gen 6
25%
Paralysis Speed
Quartered Speed
∞
Weather
Weather moves last 5 turns
Crit rate — fixed at 1/16
Gen 1 used Speed-scaled critical hits (1/512 × base Speed). Gen 2 changed this to a fixed 1/16 base rate (≈6.25%), independent of Speed. Higher crit tiers existed via Focus Energy (still bugged in Gen 1; fixed in Gen 2) and high-crit moves (Slash, Razor Leaf, Crabhammer).
| Status | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paralysis | Speed × 0.25 + 25% chance to fail acting | Quartered Speed. |
| Burn | Physical Attack × 0.5 + 1/8 max HP per turn | Heavy DoT. |
| Freeze | Cannot act until thawed | 20% thaw per turn. Ice-type moves can freeze on secondary effect. |
| Sleep | Cannot act for 1–7 turns | Counter persists across switches. Sleep Clause enforced in competitive. |
| Poison | 1/8 max HP per turn | Toxic doubles each turn up to 15/16. |
Generation 2 additions
Beyond the type and stat changes, Gen 2 introduced four new systems that became permanent features of the franchise.
Each Pokémon can carry one item into battle, persistent across turns. Defining held items: Leftovers (1/16 max HP per turn), Light Ball (doubles Pikachu's SpA), Quick Claw (random first-strike chance), Berry (auto-cures status).
New mechanic — produces Pokémon eggs that hatch with the parents' passable stats and moves. Defining for competitive: hidden moves can be transferred via egg moves, IV inheritance becomes a team-building variable.
New stat tracked per Pokémon. Powers Return (BP scales with happiness, max 102) and Frustration (BP scales inversely, max 102 at 0 happiness).
Real-time clock affects evolution conditions and certain move accuracy. Less competitive impact in Smogon Singles where timing isn't a factor.
Pokémon now have explicit gender (with some exceptions). Affects breeding and Attract mechanics; non-trivial for some niche strategies.
Already covered in detail above — the franchise's first type chart expansion.
Held items introduced
Gen 2 introduced held items as a system. The list below covers the items with measurable competitive impact in GSC OU.
LeftoversUniversal recoveryRestores 1/16 max HP at the end of each turn. Defining defensive item — every defensive Pokémon in GSC OU runs Leftovers. Walls accumulate effective HP through long games.
Light BallPikachu signatureDoubles Pikachu's Special Attack. Defining item for competitive Pikachu in Little Cup formats.
Quick ClawRandom first-strike~20% chance to give the holder priority on their attack regardless of Speed. Niche luck-item — banned in some Smogon formats.
BerryStatus cureCures any status condition. Single-use. The franchise's first defensive consumable item.
Bitter BerryConfusion cureCures confusion. Single-use. Niche but unique.
Print BerryMint Berry — sleep cureCures sleep. Single-use. Defining item against sleep-stalling teams.
King's RockFlinch-on-attack10% chance to flinch the target on a damaging attack. Niche but produces frustrating luck patterns; banned in some formats.
Thick ClubMarowak / CuboneDoubles Marowak's Attack. Marowak with Thick Club + Earthquake produces effective Attack of 380 base — defining the GSC Marowak set.
Signature moves introduced
Gen 2 introduced moves that defined defensive play for two decades — Spikes, Rapid Spin, Pursuit, Sleep Talk, Toxic distribution.
Sets a hazard that damages grounded Pokémon switching in by 12.5% (Gen 2 single layer). Multi-layer stacking arrived in Gen 3. Defining hazard for stall teams.
Normal20-BP physical attack that removes hazards and binding effects (Wrap, Fire Spin) from the user's side. The franchise's primary hazard remover until Defog buffed in Gen 6.
Dark 40-BP physical attack that doubles in power if the target switches out on the same turn. Defining trap-and-kill move; massively important in GSC OU.
Status move that randomly uses one of the user's other moves. Combined with Rest, produces RestTalk — a defensive cycle that heals while still attacking. Defining defensive pattern of GSC OU.
For non-Ghostusers: raises Attack and Defense by one stage each, lowers Speed by one stage. CurseLax (Snorlax + Curse) is the franchise's archetypal slow setup wincon.
Raises the user's Attack to maximum (+6 stages) at the cost of 50% max HP. The franchise's most powerful single-turn setup move.
Existed in Gen 1 but Gen 2's expanded distribution made it the universal physical Ground STAB it remains today.
Dark 80-BP — special in Gen 2 (pre-split), physical from Gen 4 onward. Defining Dark STAB for Tyranitar and Houndour line in Gen 2.
Steel100-BP physical attack with 75% accuracy. The franchise's primary physical Steel STAB option for non-Steel-type carriers.
Sets sand for 5 turns. The Tyranitar Sand Stream ability arrived in Gen 3; in Gen 2, the Sandstorm move was the only way to summon sand.
Competitive formats
Gen 2 produced GSC OU — one of the longest-running competitive formats in franchise history, still actively played in Smogon Tour and SPL nearly three decades after release.
Tier 1
OU — OverUsed
6v6 Singles. The most defensive OU meta in franchise history. Mewtwo and Lugia banned to Ubers; Marowak with Thick Club tested but stayed in OU.
Restricted
Ubers
Hosted Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi (briefly). The Ubers meta in Gen 2 was tighter than in later gens since fewer powerful legendaries existed.
Tier ladder
UU
Lower Singles tier populated by usage drops. Defining UU Pokémon: Aerodactyl (later moved to OU), Kingdra, Steelix.
Specialty
Smogon Tour / SPL
GSC OU is one of the franchise's most actively-played retro formats. Smogon Tour, SPL, and several long-running tournaments keep the format live.
History
Sleep Clause origins
Many of the canonical Smogon clauses (Sleep, Species, OHKO) were formalised in the post-Gen 2 community organisation. GSC is where the modern Smogon competitive framework began to take shape.
Format
No abilities
Gen 2 has no ability system. Pokémon competitive identity is purely typing + stats + moveset + held item. The format reads differently from any later generation.
Defining bans
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 Gen 2 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 stat line + 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 + Hidden Power Fire; 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 + Skill Swap (or attempted equivalents). Stayed in OU; defining Spikes setter. |
GSC OU has been continuously played since 2000. Few formats in any competitive game have that kind of longevity — and the meta has been refined for nearly three decades by an unbroken community.
Iconic Pokémon of the era
The Pokémon below shaped GSC OU. Many are pre-Gen 2 Pokémon who became viable in the new format thanks to the Special split, held items, or expanded movepools via TM/HM updates.
Singles — GSC OU
Snorlax
Mixed wall · WallbreakerCurse — Body Slam — Earthquake
CurseLax (Curse + Rest + Body Slam + Earthquake) is the era's defining slow setup wincon. RestTalk Snorlax with Body Slam paralysis pressure also dominant.
Skarmory
Hazard setter · PhazerSpikes — Whirlwind — Drill Peck
Spikes + Whirlwind phaze pattern + Rest. The franchise's premier hazard setter in GSC; defining Steel/Flying defensive wall.
Tyranitar
Wallbreaker · Pursuit trapperCrunch — Earthquake — Pursuit
Pre-Sand Stream Tyranitar (Sand Stream as ability arrived in Gen 3). Crunch + Earthquake + Pursuit + Rock Slide. Defining Pursuit-trapper of GSC.
Cloyster
Spikes setter · Suicide leadSpikes — Explosion — Surf
Spikes + Explosion + Surf + Toxic. The era's primary suicide-lead Spikes setter — set hazards and explode for offensive momentum.
Vaporeon
Special wall · ClericSurf — Wish — Roar
Surf + Roar + Rest + Sleep Talk / Wish. Defining special wall — 130/60/95 with elite SpD bulk after the split made Vaporeon a near-unbreakable Water-type tank.
Zapdos
Special pivotThunder — Drill Peck — Hidden Power Ice
Thunder + Drill Peck + Hidden Power Ice + Rest / Sleep Talk. Defining Electric-type special wallbreaker — 125 SpA on a 100/85/90 frame.
Marowak
WallbreakerThick Club — Earthquake — Bonemerang
Thick Club doubled Marowak's Attack to effective 380 base. Earthquake + Bonemerang + Rock Slide + Hidden Power Bug. The era's most-discussed offensive Pokémon.
Steelix
Physical wallIron Tail — Earthquake — Roar
Iron Tail + Earthquake + Roar + Rest. The era's premier physical wall — 75/200/65 stat distribution skewed entirely toward Defense.
Heracross
WallbreakerMegahorn — Earthquake — Counter
Megahorn (120 BP, 85% accuracy) + Earthquake + Counter + Rest. Bug/Fighting frame produced raw offensive output unmatched by other physicals.
Nidoking
Mixed wallbreakerEarthquake — Thunderbolt — Ice Beam
Mixed Nidoking — Earthquake + Thunderbolt + Ice Beam + Lovely Kiss. Pre-split, Thunderbolt and Ice Beam were special; Earthquake was physical. Mixed coverage was uniquely Nidoking-shaped.
Where to go from here
The above is the static reference for Gen 2. The current state of any of its formats lives in the rest of Pokékipe.
- Live meta data — Pokémon stats, Team Builder, Timeline.
- Terminology — every term used above is defined in the Competitive Glossary.
- Workflow — the VGC Teambuilding and Core Mechanics guides cover the build process and underlying systems (note: VGC formats post-date Gen 2).
- Adjacent eras — Gen 3 — Ruby & Sapphire covers abilities, natures, and the modern EV system that built on Gen 2's foundation. Gen 1 — Red & Blue covers the original 15-type chart, unified Special, and Speed-tied crits that Gen 2 split apart.