Mia's tips
- Open Pokémon Showdown, go to Teambuilder, make a new team in [Gen 1] OU, hit Import and paste any team below. Gen 1 has no abilities, items or natures, and Showdown fills in the stats on its own.
- Playing a friend? Each pick an AI's team. Want a challenge? Take your own team against the counter-teams.
Round 1: the teams they built
They built these separately and still landed on the same four Pokémon. If you want the AI's idea of the "standard answer", this is it.
Alakazam - Psychic - Seismic Toss - Thunder Wave - Recover Exeggutor - Sleep Powder - Psychic - Double-Edge - Explosion Chansey - Ice Beam - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Soft-Boiled Zapdos - Thunderbolt - Drill Peck - Thunder Wave - Agility Snorlax - Body Slam - Earthquake - Hyper Beam - Self-Destruct Tauros - Body Slam - Hyper Beam - Blizzard - Earthquake
Its own game plan: Paralyze or put to sleep the opponent's most dangerous Pokémon early, then use Chansey and Exeggutor to absorb special attacks while I spread chip damage. Once their walls are worn down and their fast threats are crippled, I trade Exeggutor's Explosion and Snorlax's Self-Destruct to clear the way. Tauros, or Zapdos after Agility, then cleans up the endgame.
Alakazam - Psychic - Thunder Wave - Seismic Toss - Recover Exeggutor - Sleep Powder - Psychic - Stun Spore - Explosion Chansey - Ice Beam - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Soft-Boiled Snorlax - Body Slam - Earthquake - Hyper Beam - Self-Destruct Starmie - Blizzard - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Recover Tauros - Body Slam - Hyper Beam - Blizzard - Earthquake
Its own game plan: Lead Alakazam to establish paralysis, find an opening for Exeggutor’s Sleep Powder, and preserve Chansey and Starmie as the defensive backbone. Pressure the opposing team with Snorlax, using Explosion or Self-Destruct when a favorable trade removes an important defender. Keep Tauros healthy until opposing checks are weakened enough for Body Slam and Hyper Beam to finish the game.
Tauros - Body Slam - Hyper Beam - Blizzard - Earthquake Chansey - Softboiled - Thunder Wave - Ice Beam - Thunderbolt Snorlax - Body Slam - Hyper Beam - Earthquake - Self-Destruct Exeggutor - Sleep Powder - Psychic - Explosion - Mega Drain Starmie - Blizzard - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Recover Rhydon - Earthquake - Rock Slide - Body Slam - Substitute
Its own game plan: Use Exeggutor's Sleep Powder to disable a key threat, then leverage Chansey and Rhydon to wall special and physical attackers respectively. Spread paralysis with Thunder Wave and Body Slam, then break through with Snorlax's Self-Destruct or Exeggutor's Explosion to open a path for Tauros to clean up late-game.
After banning those 8 Pokémon
Tauros, Snorlax, Chansey, Exeggutor, Starmie, Alakazam, Rhydon and Zapdos banned. This is what they built next.
Jynx - Lovely Kiss - Blizzard - Psychic - Rest Slowbro - Amnesia - Surf - Thunder Wave - Rest Jolteon - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Double Kick - Pin Missile Lapras - Blizzard - Thunderbolt - Body Slam - Rest Golem - Earthquake - Rock Slide - Body Slam - Explosion Kangaskhan - Body Slam - Hyper Beam - Earthquake - Rock Slide
Its own game plan: Open with Jynx to put a key threat to sleep. Then use Body Slam, Thunder Wave and Surf to spread paralysis and chip damage across the opponent's team, with Golem's Explosion clearing a wall when needed. Once their special answers are weakened or paralyzed, Amnesia Slowbro or Kangaskhan with Hyper Beam sweeps the rest.
Gengar - Hypnosis - Thunderbolt - Psychic - Explosion Jynx - Lovely Kiss - Blizzard - Psychic - Rest Jolteon - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Pin Missile - Rest Golem - Earthquake - Rock Slide - Body Slam - Explosion Slowbro - Amnesia - Surf - Thunder Wave - Rest Persian - Slash - Hyper Beam - Thunderbolt - Bubble Beam
Its own game plan: Lead Gengar and pursue early sleep, keeping Jynx available if the opening exchange goes badly. Spread paralysis, preserve Golem against opposing Jolteon, and use Explosion to remove obstacles to Slowbro or Persian. Commit to the cleaner whose remaining checks have been weakened most.
Slowbro - Amnesia - Surf - Psychic - Thunder Wave Jynx - Lovely Kiss - Blizzard - Psychic - Rest Gengar - Hypnosis - Thunderbolt - Psychic - Explosion Jolteon - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Pin Missile - Body Slam Golem - Earthquake - Rock Slide - Explosion - Body Slam Lapras - Blizzard - Thunderbolt - Body Slam - Confuse Ray
Its own game plan: Open with Jynx to land Lovely Kiss, then bring Slowbro in behind paralysis support and start stacking Amnesia until it can sweep. Golem and Jolteon handle the Electric and physical threats that would otherwise stop Slowbro, while Gengar and Golem hold their Explosions in reserve to delete whichever Psychic-type or Amnesia user the opponent leans on. Lapras is the safe mid-game pivot that keeps Fire and Ice attackers honest.
Counter-teams built to beat the standard
I showed them the three round-1 teams and asked for a team made to beat that kind of team. These are the most fun to try.
Jynx - Lovely Kiss - Blizzard - Psychic - Rest Zapdos - Thunderbolt - Drill Peck - Thunder Wave - Agility Chansey - Ice Beam - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Soft-Boiled Slowbro - Amnesia - Surf - Ice Beam - Rest Snorlax - Amnesia - Blizzard - Body Slam - Rest Tauros - Body Slam - Hyper Beam - Blizzard - Earthquake
Its own game plan: Lead Jynx to grab the first sleep, ideally on Exeggutor, the main answer to my Amnesia users. Then spread paralysis with Chansey and Zapdos while Slowbro and Snorlax take turns boosting until their lone Chansey collapses. Once their special wall and sleeper are gone, Tauros, Zapdos or a boosted Amnesia user cleans up what's left, and I avoid giving free Explosion trades by switching on predicted booms.
Jynx - Lovely Kiss - Blizzard - Psychic - Rest Cloyster - Clamp - Blizzard - Rest - Explosion Chansey - Seismic Toss - Thunder Wave - Reflect - Soft-Boiled Snorlax - Body Slam - Ice Beam - Reflect - Rest Exeggutor - Sleep Powder - Stun Spore - Psychic - Explosion Tauros - Body Slam - Hyper Beam - Blizzard - Earthquake
Its own game plan: Lead Jynx to threaten sleep, then spread paralysis while Cloyster and the Reflect users exhaust their physical attackers. Use successful Clamp turns to position safely, and time Explosions to remove weakened defenders while preserving Chansey for special attackers. Keep Tauros healthy until the remaining team is within finishing range.
Jynx - Lovely Kiss - Blizzard - Psychic - Body Slam Gengar - Explosion - Thunderbolt - Mega Drain - Confuse Ray Cloyster - Blizzard - Explosion - Surf - Toxic Slowbro - Amnesia - Surf - Ice Beam - Rest Golem - Earthquake - Rock Slide - Explosion - Body Slam Jolteon - Thunderbolt - Thunder Wave - Body Slam - Pin Missile
Its own game plan: Use Jynx to sleep the opponent's lead, then trade Explosions from Gengar, Cloyster, and Golem to remove key threats like Chansey, Alakazam and Zapdos. Once the opponent's special walls and Explosion users are gone, set up Slowbro with Amnesia and sweep, using Jolteon to revenge kill Starmie and Golem to wall Zapdos.
The prompt each AI got every turn
All three got the exact same text, and every turn was a brand-new conversation: the rules, the full battle log so far, their own team, whatever the opponent had revealed, and the legal options. Here's the full prompt Claude got on turn 3 of the first game, if you want to run your own:
FORMAT: [Gen 1] OU on Pokémon Showdown.
- Game mechanics are Generation 1 (Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow). 6v6 singles, every Pokémon is level 100.
- Clauses: Sleep Clause (only one opposing Pokémon may be asleep from your moves at a time), Freeze Clause (only one frozen), Species Clause. OHKO moves and evasion moves are banned. Mew and Mewtwo are banned.
- There is no team preview: you only learn about the opponent's Pokémon when they appear.
- You win when all six of your opponent's Pokémon have fainted.
You are Player 1. You are playing one game of the tournament right now.
== BATTLE LOG SO FAR (from your point of view) ==
You sent out Alakazam (313/313 HP (100%)).
The opponent sent out Alakazam (100% HP).
--- Turn 1 ---
You said to your opponent: "Good luck, have fun!"
The opposing Alakazam used Thunder Wave.
Your Alakazam is now paralyzed!
Your Alakazam used Thunder Wave.
The opposing Alakazam is now paralyzed!
--- Turn 2 ---
Your Alakazam is fully paralyzed and can't move!
The opposing Alakazam is fully paralyzed and can't move!
--- Turn 3 ---
== CURRENT SITUATION (start of turn 3) ==
YOUR ACTIVE POKÉMON: Alakazam (Psychic) — HP 313/313 (100%), status: paralyzed, stat changes: none
Stats: Attack 198, Defense 188, Special 368, Speed 338
Moves:
1. Psychic — Psychic, special, power 90, accuracy 100%, PP 16/16. 33% chance to lower the target's Special by 1.
2. Seismic Toss — Fighting, physical, fixed damage, accuracy 100%, PP 32/32. Damage = user's level. Can hit Ghost types.
3. Thunder Wave — Electric, status, no direct damage, accuracy 100%, PP 31/32. Paralyzes the target.
4. Recover — Normal, status, no direct damage, always hits, PP 32/32. Heals the user by 50% of its max HP.
YOUR OTHER POKÉMON:
2. Exeggutor (Grass/Psychic) — HP 393/393 (100%), status: none. Moves: Sleep Powder, Psychic, Double-Edge, Explosion. Stats: Attack 288, Defense 268, Special 348, Speed 208
3. Chansey (Normal) — HP 703/703 (100%), status: none. Moves: Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Soft-Boiled. Stats: Attack 108, Defense 108, Special 308, Speed 198
4. Zapdos (Electric/Flying) — HP 383/383 (100%), status: none. Moves: Thunderbolt, Drill Peck, Thunder Wave, Agility. Stats: Attack 278, Defense 268, Special 348, Speed 298
5. Snorlax (Normal) — HP 523/523 (100%), status: none. Moves: Body Slam, Earthquake, Hyper Beam, Self-Destruct. Stats: Attack 318, Defense 228, Special 228, Speed 158
6. Tauros (Normal) — HP 353/353 (100%), status: none. Moves: Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Blizzard, Earthquake. Stats: Attack 298, Defense 288, Special 238, Speed 318
OPPONENT'S ACTIVE POKÉMON: Alakazam (Psychic) — HP 100%, status: paralyzed, stat changes: none. Moves revealed so far: Thunder Wave
Opponent's Pokémon not seen yet: 5
== YOUR OPTIONS ==
- "move 1" (Psychic)
- "move 2" (Seismic Toss)
- "move 3" (Thunder Wave)
- "move 4" (Recover)
- "switch 2" (Exeggutor)
- "switch 3" (Chansey)
- "switch 4" (Zapdos)
- "switch 5" (Snorlax)
- "switch 6" (Tauros)
Reply with ONLY a JSON object, nothing else: {"choice": "<one option exactly as written above, e.g. move 1 or switch 3>", "reason": "<one or two sentences: why — private, your opponent never sees this>", "say": "<optional: a short line you say out loud to your opponent this turn (they will see it), or an empty string>"}
The team-building prompt
You are entering an AI Pokémon tournament. The three entrants are Claude Opus 5.5 (by Anthropic), GPT-6.1 Sol (by OpenAI) and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (by DeepSeek). You are <model name>. RULES - Format: [Gen 1] OU on Pokémon Showdown. Generation 1 mechanics (Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow), 6v6 singles, all Pokémon at level 100. - Pick 6 different Pokémon from the original 151. Mew and Mewtwo are banned. - Each Pokémon gets up to 4 moves it can legally learn in Generation 1. OHKO moves (Fissure, Horn Drill, Guillotine), evasion moves (Double Team, Minimize), Dig and Fly are banned. - Sleep Clause and Freeze Clause apply (only one opposing Pokémon asleep / frozen at a time from your moves). - There are no items, abilities or natures in Generation 1; stats are maxed automatically. - No team preview: opponents only see your Pokémon when they come out. - Round robin: you will play several games against each opponent, and you must use this same team for the whole tournament. - Use only your own knowledge. No tools, no web search. Build the team you think gives you the best chance to win the tournament. Reply in exactly this structure: TEAM ``` <your 6 Pokémon in Pokémon Showdown export format: the species name on one line, then its moves, each on a line starting with "- ", and a blank line between Pokémon> ``` WHY <one line per Pokémon: "Species: why it is on the team and what its job is"> PLAN <two or three sentences: your overall game plan> DECLARATION <one sentence you would say to your opponents before the tournament starts>
How the tournament ran
- Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic): Claude Code on my own computer, reasoning effort high, no tools at all.
- GPT-6.1 Sol (OpenAI): Codex on my own computer, reasoning effort high, tools and web search off.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (DeepSeek): through OpenRouter, reasoning effort high.
- The battles ran on the open-source Pokémon Showdown simulator on my machine, format [Gen 1] OU. Hits, misses, damage and crits all come from the simulator.
- If an answer wasn't a legal move, the AI got the error and one more try. If that failed too, the referee picked a random legal move.
- The Max Damage Bot is a few dozen lines of code: every turn it runs a damage calculator and uses the move with the highest average damage, and it only switches when something faints.
Every game, turn by turn
Pick a game and scroll from turn 1: what both sides chose, their reasoning (private), their trash talk (the opponent sees it), and what happened that turn.
