We’re back for the Normal-type reviews, and today we’re going to focus on Tauros, a bull Pokémon with a penchant in rushing at things! If you are ready with this one, please proceed.




“One of those Pokemon, And by that, I mean a pokemon that only could be found in the Safari Zone. I do appreciate how the anime tried to integrate the story of Tauros and make them similar to other animals in real life, but the aggravation of watching a Tauros appear, and then run after one Safari Ball makes this one a ‘one thumbs down’ for pure aggravation.” ~ ray_quazaa


Selected Fan Art (Artist: RtRadke)

Tauros is one fierce-looking bull, which makes it quite scary if you encounter one. It may look quite like a bull, but there is something about it that is different. I guess it must be the fact that it has three tails, but it could also be its forehead. As its name suggests, Tauros is a male-only Pokémon when genders were introduced in Generation 2. In fact, Miltank was also introduced in the same Generation, making both Pokémon contrasts with each other. There is however, no common link between them, so while they might be counterparts in a sense, it’s not established in a way that is absolute.
At a glance, Tauros looks rather aggressive, as one could tell from its eyes. It’s to be expected for a Pokémon that is known to be wild and violent, as it could also make the opponent wary of it or become very powerful when angered. Another thing that is special about Tauros is its tails. Instead of having one tail, it has three that might be able to be moved independently. While cattle use their tails to shoo the flies off, Tauros used it more creatively, using it as a whip in which to spur itself. Its forehead also has three bumps lining across vertically, which it might use to help take the blow on its head more comfortably. Finally, it has a mane around its neck, and I am pretty sure that it’s just to make it look good.
Being based on a bull, Tauros’ main form of offence is to charge at something with its head at the forefront, exposing the horns. As mentioned before, Tauros uses its tails to spur itself. Usually, when one attempts to encourage oneself to push themselves, they might not necessarily be motivated because they are already aware on what they are doing, so it’s not as effective as somebody else doing the encouragement, so a Tauros encouraging itself is amusing. That is, unless it has a reflex point on its posterior that gives it more adrenaline.
The abundant stamina allows Tauros to make a fast and hard rush. It is quite powerful, but straightforward. It could only charge at a straight path, meaning if something is a bit off the path, it could miss the target. It is focused on its action that it won’t stop until it butted heads with something else. It does make a living out of the rampaging, seeing as it enjoys doing such an action. The best scenario is for it to have an opponent, because if it doesn’t, it will need to charge at something else (usually trees) to calm itself down.
With a tendency to get physical and fast, Tauros is built as a Physical attacker. Its best stats are Attack and Speed, and it has a good range of Physical attacks. Its main abilities could be used well, but Intimidate is the better of the two since Anger Point’s activation is not guaranteed. The best ability to use is Sheer Force, no doubt based on Tauros’ powerful offensive approach. There aren’t many Physical attacks that would benefit from this ability, but it has just enough to use it with. Rock Climb is the main attack, since it has a secondary effect and enough power to outpower Return at max power. The big draw with Sheer Force is the prevention of recoil from Life Orb. This effective allows Tauros to use its main STAB for a lot of damage without the recoil. More importantly, it allows it to use a strong Special attack like Fire Blast to do good damage even though its Special Attack is low. Basically, Tauros is a fast, Physically-oriented attacker that could do good Special damage.
Much like any other bovine, Tauros does have a herd to stick together with. Within the herd, the Tauros spar each other by locking horns to fight. One purpose in doing this is to prove their strength among each other, and another might be to improve each other for when it’s necessary to use that strength. Doing this might be the criterion for being the leader of the herd; therefore the strongest bull will be the leader. The herd’s protector is one to take pride of its battle experience when it has battle-scarred horns.
Tauros’ most well-known appearance in the anime is when Ash used all his 30 Safari Balls on catching Tauros in each of them while in the Safari Zone. Well, it would have been well-known if it were shown. The reason it wasn’t aired anywhere beyond Japan is the heavy use of firearms in what is perceived to be a child-friendly animated show. I guess it’s a legitimate reason not to show such weapons, but I feel that the episode could do without the guns, making it clearer on how Ash got a herd in the first place. Perhaps it’s an advantage to have many Tauros, because they will be able to cope when they have one another, so they could battle each other. On the other hand, they don’t have time to show their personality.
Overall, Tauros is a basic yet functional Pokémon. It’s basic in that it is based on a bull with few fantastical characteristics. It’s function because its wild head charges are useful in battles.


+ Powerful charging attacks
+ Basic yet functional
– Self-whipping is an odd design choice



TCG Card

This card’s Tauros looks a bit more realistic than the official rendition. Not only is its mane fuzzier and messier, its muscles look more detailed. Because of the more detailed way this Tauros look, it might come off as an unusual rendition of this Pokémon, but at the same time, the artstyle provides an interesting take on what a Pokémon based on a real animal could look like.




Work Up

Taking one of Tauros’ moves that it learns normally, Work Up is chosen to represent Tauros’ affinity in charging at things for exercise. Despite being called “Work Up”, this move is known as “Cheer Up” in Japanese, possible to highlight that happiness is a source of strength. I guess that fits Tauros too since it needs to exercise to keep itself happy.
If you understand Work Up’s effect, you can see how this move is useful. After all, raising both offensive stats is a form of versatility since the user can hit harder on both Physical and Special sides. In practice, however, very few Pokémon can actually take advantage of it. One reason is that many Pokémon excel in one side, whether it’s their offensive stat or the attacking moves. If that Pokémon has a move that sharply increases their offensive stat, then Work Up won’t be considered thanks to the faster boost of the former move.
Even for Pokémon with more balanced offences, it is usually more advantageous to stick on one side because they could run a nature that hinders their unused offensive stat. It does have some use in Generation 5, where this move was introduced early-game, because that means you can provide a lot of Pokémon with a means to boost their Attack or Special Attack, which can be important.
All in all, Work Up is a move that should be great because its benefits are clear, but the rewarding aspect of this move is not quite enough to be a must-have.




That’s all for today’s article. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.
Thanks for reading.

Next Article: Teddiursa & Ursaring
The post Normal-type Reviews: Tauros appeared first on Pokémon Crossroads.


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