A few questions about Pokemon Showdown?

Question

Hi, I'd just like to know, what is the most popular tier on PS at the moment?

Also, I'd like to use a type of team to play in OU that isn't Trick Room or weather.
Preferably, I want a team that is rarely used or uncommon and can still peak pretty high on the ladder.

What's OU Goodstuff, and what are the best Pokemon to use in it? I'm thinking of making a team in that tier.

All answers are appreciated. Thanks.

Comments

Ou is the most common tier right now. Although tbh, it's probably the most boring.

We can help you by rating your team and giving tips on RMT, but the starting team itself it down to you. Be creative but sensible.

There are lots of ways to study and improve on a tier before even paying it. Ask people's opinions, go to smogon and see what they say personally, a lot of it is bad stuff, but some of the sets and strategies are good ones you can learn from, go to showdown and watch battles, see what is common in OU and what threats you need to be aware of, on the same note, do the same things with replays (both we and smogon have replay threads as well as Showdown's, so you can go see them too).

But the main way is to play it! Make a team (don't get too creative until you know the basics) and go out there, either against friends, friendly DB users or out on ladders. By doing this, you'll get a great sense of what is threatening to your team, what your team lacks and the playstyles that do well, as well as the ones that don't. Contrary to what people say, becoming extremely good isn't easy, and will take you some time to become elite. But don't get disheartned by losses, you can look at them and see what you could have done.

Just practice, practice and practice. I wouldn't personally say to play at all unless you're having fun, but many people have fun after they reach very high up standards, s whatever floats your boat.

Answer 1

The most popular tier is and always has been OU. Undeserving of its popularity imo, but is is still the most played tier. If you want something different and more interesting to play, play UU or RU.

We don't really build teams for you, and neither will any other site like Smogon. You can't really steal a team and say "I reached 1700 on the ladder!" because someone pretty much did the work for you. Anyways, it's hard to go into OU with a Pokemon from a lower tier and get a good peak with it, as quite often it's in a lower tier for a reason, for example outclassed or easily countered. There are some decent OU Pokemon in UU, namely Mienshao, Assault Vest Metagross, Volcarona, Blissey (use Chansey though), Sableye, Galvantula, etc. Just don't go too crazy with it (don't bring something like an Aurorus into an OU game for example as it will die). Only use these Pokemon if your team really needs it; for example, Galvantula can set Sticky Web which might help if your team if it is slow, but otherwise it is outclassed by Mega Manectric.

As for what's good in OU, again there really isn't an answer. There is never really a best overall Pokemon, that depends on the person's team and what is going to be most useful to take it down and what is going to be able to support the Pokemon you need to keep alive to beat the opponent. If determining what's the best based on usage counts, Greninja would be best, but that does not necessarily mean it's the "best". Pokemon like Mega Mawile are being suspect tested (which means Smogon are considering banning it), even though it is not nearly as popular as Greninja. However, Smogon have complied a bit of a list of good Pokemon to use in OU here, but unless you have experience playing the tier you won't know why they're good and you may end up using them the wrong way. So just try to throw together a team that has decent synergy and coverage of the metagame and discover how it works and what counters what yourself. You can't instantly become good at OU by reading articles and building a good team, you need to learn prediction, common movesets on Pokemon and how the tier works in general.

A few resources that might help you understand the game better:

• sweepercalc: holds statistics on what sets are most common on different Pokemon and what's popular in OU. Updates monthly.
• Showdown battle replays: look for the OU replays and watch a few battles. Not as good as playing the game yourself but it might help you work out what Pokemon use what sets.
• OU viability ranks: mentioned before. These aren't official though, just Smogon's opinion. Also don't make a team out of the top 6 Pokemon, that won't work either. Just shows an inability to teambuild, and half the S rank Pokemon are Megas anyway. Use this as a way to determine which Pokemon you should watch out for and what Pokemon your team need to have a counter to rather than a way to build a team.

Comments

Thanks for your answer! I wasn't really asking to build a team for me, just some of the best pokemon to use in different types of teams. I've had a look at the website links, and they've been really helpful. I know I sound like a complete newbie, but I've actually been playing pokemon since I was a kid and I've been on Showdown for a couple of years now (not entirely sure it was PS, but some kind of competitive simulator). I've had experience with doubles and a fair amount of months on Ubers singles as well. Thanks again!