What Pokemon are good tanks in Blue (Game Boy)?

Question

I'm working my way through the game to try and beat it once and for all, but I'm looking to arrange a team of tanks to roll through the gyms. Are there any that I need to look out for?

Comments

Ctrl + F "tank" into https://www.smogon.com/ingame/guides/rby_ingametiers

Doing so shows that Smogon thinks that Vaporeon, Sandslash, Graveler/Golem, Snorlax, Tauros, and Chansey are all good tanks. Of these, however, only Vaporeon and Sandslash are considered "okay" or "good" choices.

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This was a huge help, I wrote them down and I'm on the hunt. Thanks!

Answer 1

Clefairy
Availability: Early-game (Mt. Moon (B1F), level 10 or 12 (RB); or Mt. Moon (B1F), level 9, 11, or 13 (Y)).
Typing: Normal gives it a neutral matchup against every major Trainer bar Agatha's Ghost-types and Bruno's Fighting-types.
Stats: Clefairy has well rounded stats except for a rather low Speed, but it's enough for most of the game.
Movepool: Clefable's level-up movepool is poor, but Clefairy's Sing at level 13 is a decent support move. Clefable has access to STAB moves like Mega Punch and Mega Kick via TMs. It also has access to many special attacks such as Thunderbolt, Psychic, Ice Beam, and Blizzard. Finally, it can learn Thunder Wave and Reflect.
Major Battles: Misty's Starmie can be defeated by Mega Punch or Seismic Toss. With STAB moves, Clefairy is capable of OHKOing and 2HKOing a lot of foes, with its special coverage handling everything else.
Additional Comments: Clefairy can evolve almost immediately with the Moon Stone available at Mt. Moon. It can also wait until level 13 to learn Sing. Because of this, it requires minimal effort to reach its maximum potential through the whole game.

Drowzee
Availability: Early-game (Route 11, level 9, 11, 13, and 15 (RB); Route 11, level 15, 17, and 19 (Y)).
Typing: Psychic is only resisted by Sabrina's Pokémon and is neutral at worst against the other major opponents.
Stats: The Drowzee line boasts average stats all-around aside from high Special.
Movepool: Drowzee starts with Hypnosis and learns Confusion at level 17, which is then replaced by Psychic at level 37. Pound upgrades to Headbutt (at level 24) and possibly to Body Slam / Tri Attack through TMs. Dream Eater via TM can be useful for healing after putting foes to sleep.
Major Battles: Drowzee can use Seismic Toss to get past Misty, and Lt. Surge's team is decimated if you have Hypno by that point. Otherwise, Hypno has a good showing in all major battles with its Psychic / Normal coverage. The only slight stumble it faces is the Pokémon League, where its relatively sluggish Speed and average stats hinder it; however, this does not stop it from taking out at least a few Pokémon there.
Additional Comments: Other than a tiny slow period before Confusion, Drowzee is a great option for RBY with little TM reliance and helpful access to Hypnosis.

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