Smogon University - Competitive Pokémon Community
Welcome! Smogon is a Pokémon website and community specializing in the art of competitive battling.
An Introduction to Smogon's Tier System - Smogon University
A Pokemon's placement within a tier is by no means set in stone. As people continue to engage in competitive battles, new strategies and movesets arise that may have previously been overlooked. …
Randbats - How to Play from an Expert - Smogon University
Introduction Randbats, for the uninitiated, stands for Random Battles, and is a metagame playable on Pokémon Showdown! that gives each player 6 random Pokémon at the start of each battle. In its …
Fifth Generation Double Battle Guide - Smogon University
Introduction How are double battles different? Mechanics Clauses Play Style Common Moves in Double Battles Spread Moves Support Moves Common Abilities in Double Battles Frequently Used Items …
Double Battle Primer - Smogon University
A lot of serious Pokémon players consider Double Battles to be a sort of afterthought or add-on to the 3rd and 4th generations of the Pokémon games: a pleasant diversion, but nothing comparable to the …
Pokémon Showdown - Smogon University
Pokémon Showdown is a Pokémon battle simulator that you can play immediately in your browser with no downloads! Try it out! Playable in your browser Open source Alternative client download …
1v1 Metagame Guide - Smogon University
The idea behind it is to use Counter against Pokemon using physical attacks and wear down Pokemon using special attacks with Toxic and a recovery move. The problem is, a Pokemon with Trick ruins …
Random Formats on Pokémon Showdown - Smogon University
Old Gen Random Battles Do you every get nostalgic for a certain generation? Are you sick and tired of the repetition of the mechanics and playstyle? Or did you just miss out on the chance to play a …
Top 10 Doubles Threats - Smogon University
The average competitive Pokémon player does not often explore the doubles metagame. It is relatively new, having been introduced in the Advance generation, and is quite different from the regular …
Introduction To Competitive Pokemon - Smogon University
Every Pokemon, ability, and item is allowed in this tier. OU OverUsed is the main metagame and used for most competitive battles and tournaments. It is the balanced tier that bans as few Pokemon as …