Can someone teach me?

[Shiny Shinx]

Im a very experensned Pokemon fan (I know all 493 Pokemon by heart!)
but I dont know what all the tiers mean and the stuff I find here. Can you help me with this?

 

[Magmortar123]

Smogon is very helpful.

 

[Rellik]

Im a very experensned Pokemon fan (I know all 493 Pokemon by heart!)
but I dont know what all the tiers mean and the stuff I find here. Can you help me with this?

Essentially, Tiers are just a way to categorize Pokemon based on their over all usefulness in competitive play.

 

[Cheesus Is Lord]

The standard tier is called OU (for over-used). This is supposed to be the most inclusive balanced tier. If a Pokemon is deemed too powerful for OU, it goes to Ubers. However, some people don't like playing with only the best Pokemon, so they created a tier based on usage: UU (for under-used). If a Pokemon is not as commonly used (usually because it is not as good), it is in UU. This does not mean it cannot be used in OU, just that it usually isn't. OU includes UU. However, some Pokemon that are not commonly used are too powerful for that tier, so they are deemed BL (borderline). Finally, because there are so many Pokemon, for people who want to use Pokemon that tend not to be used even in UU, there is NU (never used). This tier is also defined by usage, not power.

To summarize:

Ubers (ban tier)
OU (everything not in Ubers)
BL (ban tier)
UU (usage tier)
NU (usage tier)

You can find out where each Pokemon is by going to Smogon, as was suggested above.

 

[KantoMaster]

The standard tier is called OU (for over-used). This is supposed to be the most inclusive balanced tier. If a Pokemon is deemed too powerful for OU, it goes to Ubers. However, some people don't like playing with only the best Pokemon, so they created a tier based on usage: UU (for under-used). If a Pokemon is not as commonly used (usually because it is not as good), it is in UU. This does not mean it cannot be used in OU, just that it usually isn't. OU includes UU. However, some Pokemon that are not commonly used are too powerful for that tier, so they are deemed BL (borderline). Finally, because there are so many Pokemon, for people who want to use Pokemon that tend not to be used even in UU, there is NU (never used). This tier is also defined by usage, not power.

To summarize:

Ubers (ban tier)
OU (everything not in Ubers)
BL (ban tier)
UU (usage tier)
NU (usage tier)

You can find out where each Pokemon is by going to Smogon, as was suggested above.

I think this member has just summed it all up. Smogon is really helpful with Pokemon training kind of stuff.

 

[coolking503]

I'm just gonna post my national bulbagraphic article here since it doesnt look like it will be made, ever. And its really old anyway. All mentions of salamence and latias are void sine both have since been banned. The OU metagame has changed alot since then, but the other tiers are pretty much the same.

Spoiler

Some pokemon are better than others. We all know it, and we all play accordingly. There is no reason to use luvdisc when you can use kyogre instead. Why use altaria when salamence is better? When playing to win, you need to use the best available, and therein lies the idea behind tiers in pokemon.

There are five tiers, three based on usage, two on strength. Each tier allows certain pokemon to be used, along with all pokemon in tiers below it. Never used (NU) is the lowest tier, followed by Underused (UU), borderline (BL), Overused (OU), and Uber. Therefore, in an Uber battle, all pokemon are allowed, while in and OU battle, all non-ubers are allowed. This allows weaker pokemon to be used even though there are better alternatives, because the alternative is in a higher tier. Following the earlier example, while altaria is not very good in OU, because salamence is better, it is still good in UU, where it is the sole dragon typed fully evolved pokemon.

You may now be asking how the tiers are chosen, and who chooses them. The most commonly used tiers are the tiers followed by Smogon, a competitive battling site. They also host a server on a pokemon battle simulator called Shoddy Battle, where they record the usage of pokemon being used in each tier. If a pokemon is used in approximately five percent of teams, it is declared to be in the OU tier, banned from UU. If it is used at least on five percent of teams in UU, it is in the UU tier, banned from NU. the Uber and Borderline tiers are not chosen in that manner, however. They serve as balancers, tiers to make sure the OU and UU metagames are not overly centralized by a certain pokemon. Every certain period of time, pokemon are nominated for testing, and the chosen ones are tested. Then at the end of the testing period, battlers who battled enough and well enough during that period may vote to keep the pokemon in UU or ban it and move into BL, and similarly, OU or Uber. All legendary pokemon with a base stat total of above 600, with the exception of regigigas, are in the Uber tier, along with latios, mew, manaphy, Garchomp, wobbufett, and wynaut. A full list of pokemon and their tiers can be found here.

The most commonly played tier is OU. this is where most pokemon are allowed, but is not overly centralized. What happens in all other tiers is affected by the OU tier, something unique to OU. UU and Uber are the next most commonly played, UU being balanced due t some pokemon being put in BL. Ubers isn't a balanced tier, as any pokemon is allowed. However, it still has alot of popularity despite Kyogre being used on almost half of all teams, among other disparities. NU is another tier which is not considered balanced, due to there being no way to get rid of overly-powerful pokemon. It depends completely on how often pokemon are used in UU, which depends on usage in OU, so the pokemon it contains shifts often. It is played often, however Smogon does not have a ladder for it on its server, so it is not played as much as the other three mentioned tiers.

In OU, the biggest threats are latias and salamence, making it a dragon dominated metagame. Latias gets near unresisted coverage with Draco meteor and surf, while salamence gets unresisted coverage with a dragon attack of choice, fire blast, and earthquake. Salamence can run a mixed set with those attacks and both draco meteor and outrage, or a dragon dance set with dragon dance and outrage. Either way, most pokemon cannot take a hit from a super effective attack, nor a STAB base 140 attack from either. For this reason scizor is the most used pokemon in OU, for its ability to do massive damage to the aforementioned threats with STAB technician boosted bullet punch, as well as the ability to revenge kill some other top threats like tyranitar and gengar.

Other top pokemon include Tyranitar, heatran, gyarados, metagross, and rotom forms. Tyranitar can set up sandstorm with its ability, and gets a special defense boost from it due to being a rock type. It can also KO latias, with pursuit if it switches, and crunch if it doesnt. It can boost its bad speed with rock polish or dragon dance, and can boost his attack with dragon dance or curse, making it extremely versatile.

Heatran is used so much due to scizor being on many teams. With scizor only weak to fire, heatran finds many oppurtunities to switch in on attack directed at scizor and gain flash fire boost. It also has an enormous special attack to abuse STAB fire blast with.

Gyarados has an attack stat second to only metagross and tyranitar in the OU tier, and also has the ability to boost it with Dragon dance. However, its great ability in intimidate and few weaknesses allow it to tank very well and work as a rest talk wall too.

Metagross used to function as a revenge killer with its strong bullet punch, until scizor got Bullet punch in platinum. However its amazing bulk and attack stat allow it to work as a great stealth rock lead, or redeem its low speed with agility or rock polish and sweep. It has a great STAB move in meteor mash, and gets good coverage when combined with earthquake and thunder punch.

Metagross woud be used alot more, but Platinum brought another blow to metagross users, known as rotom's forms. Rotom in heat form counters bother metagross, resisting its common move set, and scizor lacking the odd night slash. It can strike back with a super effective over heat, and does the same to many other common steel types in OU. It also has the added bonus of being a ghost type, allowing it to block rapid spin, along with super effective attacks on all three pokemon in OU who learn rapin spin: Forretress, tentacruel, and starmie. There are many other pokemon in OU, all with their own niches, allowing it to be a very complex and diverse metagame.

In UU, the balancing still continues, with the newest banned pokemon being froslass and raikou. In this tier, the most common threat is venasaur, with sleep powder, good bulk, and decent attack stats from both the physical and special side. This allows it to operate similar to salamence in OU, with physical moves to hit specially defensive pokemon, and special moves to hit physically defensive pokemon. Venasaur's best counter is a pokemon which 4x resists its best STAB, moltres.

Moltres may be the next pokemon to be voted BL, with its gigantic special attacking stats and no real counters outside of chansey and extremely defensive water types like milotic. Moltres can abuse its great STABs in air slash and fire blast in order to hit the plethora of grass types in the lower tiers. Its typing does leave a big stealth rock weakness however, which can be fixed with a rapid spinner, such as donphan, or roost, allowing it to regain its lost health.

Milotic is the third most common UU pokemon, with its ability to stop moltres and other strong fire types in the tier, like arcanine, houndoom, and blaziken. It has a great special attack stat, good ability, and amazing defenses allowing it to wall many common pokemon in the game, or sweep teams with surf, ice beam, and another attack suck as hidden power grass.

In UU, where tyranitar, hippodon, and abomasnow are all banned, a common threat seen is rain dance. Without other weather inducers to stop the rain, swift swimmers like Ludicolo, Kabutops, Gorebyss, and Omastar rip through unprepared team, the former having sword dance to help, the latter with good bulk from either side. the few counters to rain dance are pokemon such as hitmontop, who can strike the rock type swift swimmers with super effective STAB moves, and toxicroak, who is immune to water moves. Bulky water type like milotic can stop all sweepers except ludicolo and his grass attacks.

Many other pokemon are used in UU, which is an extremely balanced tier. however, a large usage in poison types makes toxic stall much less viable. Many pokemon are in UU because they have better counterparts in OU, such as blaziken being outclassed by infernape, and milotic by suicune. However, these pokemon are still incredibly strong and hit hard. Other pokemon are less used due to bad typing and common weaknesses, such as moltres and rhyperior. These pokemon are used much more in UU due to hitting hard even with the common weaknesses, due to there being weaker walls in UU. Other pokemon are useful in UU simply because they counter common threats, which dint exist as much in OU. For example, hitmontop stops rain dance extremely well in OU too, but rain dance isnt seen as often in OU, and thus not used as much.

In the Ubers, there are auto rain and sun inducers in the form of kyogre and groudon. This shapes the tier more than anything else. Kyogre is the biggest threat in all of Pokemon due to having an enormous special attack, and STAB on water spout, which is boosted further in the rain. The will KO almost any pokemon not named blissey or resisting it. the rain also gives thunder perfect accuracy, allowing kyogre to hit water types hard as well. The only sure fire counters to Kyogre are blissey, due to her enormous special bulk, and quagsire, due to water absorb and immunity to thunder. Kyogre tends to run ice beam in its final slot to hit the myriad of legendary dragon types in the ubers.

Other pokemon which hit extremely hard are Palkia, ho-oh, groudon, mewtwo, dialga, giritina-o, deoxys attack form, reyquaza, latios, shaymin sky form, Darkrai, and many others. Due to the population of dragon and psychic type Ubers, the most common attacking types are dragon, ice, dark, and ghost, in order to hit these pokemon the hardest. Also, in the Ubers, many non-ubers with good attacking types are used. Pokemon such as scizor, with STAB U-turn being super effective against many threats, are commonly used. Sleep talk heracross is also commonly used for the sole prupose of countering Darkrai. Heracross has excellent STAB moves both of which hit Darkrai for super effective damage. Many pokemon also carry lum berries to absorb sleep from Darkrai.

You may ask why wobbufett is an Uber. The reason it is placed in this prestigious status is because of its ability, Shadow Tag, which doesnt allow opponents to switch out. If the opponent is a physical attacker wobbufett can use counter, and fr special attackers mirror coat. If the opponents is mixed or may want to set up on Wobbufett, it can use encore and switch to another pokemon which can set up and KO the other pokemon. This allows it to KO many pokemon or allow set up oppertunities for others, making it the ultimate support pokemon. However, it lacks recovery, outside of leftovers, meaning it cant keep taking hits. Because of this wobbufett is easy enough to wear down and KO after its done its job. Its psychic typic also leaves it susceptible to pursuit ones it kills a pokemon.

The final playable tier is NU (BL isn't played as a tier, though some people may play traditional UU, which includes BLs). Similarly to Ubers, there isnt a ban list from there to throw out broken pokemon. Therefor, it is an extremely centralized tier. Charizard, Typhlosion, and magmortar all dropped from UU at around the same time, which combined with ninetales and entei made the tier extremely fire dominated. Last month, slowking was the only reliable counter to these fire types, but it got moved up to UU. Now there is no real solid counter for the fire types, though pokemon such as grumpig and walrein with thick fat, quaqsire, gastrodon, and floatzel are being used to attempt to stop the barrage of fire moves.

The other dominating threat in NU is espeon, along with its sky high special attack. the only true espeon counter is skuntank with sucker punch, who can be out predicted and set up upon. Due to the lack of viable dark types, espeon is usually hard to stop without a scarf user or priority, and with proper team support, espeon is nearly invincible. Another pokemon which is used alot, however, is scarf primape with u-turn and a strong close combat. U-turn allows it to stop non-scarfed espeon and scout the switch, making it a very useful pokemon.

There is a push for an NU ban list, but until then, the metagame continus to be centralized around those four pokemon and their counters. While other strategies are used, heavy offense or bulky offense usually dominates due to it being hard to counter all the pokemon and wear them down one way or another.

As you have seen, tiers allow pokemon to become a very complex game with many ways to play. Without them, many pokemon would never have a chance to shine. However, there are still issues in balancing the tiers. They are not perfect yet, and with generation five looming in the horizon, it seems they may never be. However, pokemon still remains as fun of a game to play as always.

If you have any other questions about tiers or a specific tier, feel free to PM me, Coolking503, or post in the correct thread in the battle strategies and tactics forum (namely the simple questions thread, which isn't used enough).