Guide for Newbies: Standard 5th Gen Battling

Hello! This is the place to talk about 5th Generation Pokemon competitive battling. If you are new to 5th gen or to competitive Pokemon, this guide will help you figure out how the game works.

Standard 5th Gen battling, unlike previous generation, is split into 7 major tiers, which are Ubers, OU, UU, RU, NU, LC, and NFE. Each tier involves a generally different style of playing and use different Pokemon. Standard 5th Gen battling does not use unreleased Pokemon/abilities. In addition, The following items are banned: Custap Berry, Ganlon Berry, Lansat Berry, Liechi Berry, Micle Berry, Petaya Berry, Rowap Berry, Salac Berry, and Soul Dew. As a general rule of Pokemon, OHKOs are banned, the raising of evasion is banned, only one Pokemon may be asleep at a time (with exception to Rest), and only one Pokemon may be frozen at a time. No two same Pokemon may be used on the same team.

Tiers:

Ubers is the tier which includes all Pokemon with exception to unreleased event Pokemon (Genesect, Keldeo, Meloetta, Meloetta-P, and Darmanitan-Z). There are nearly no restrictions in ubers, as even the strongest Pokemon are allowed.

OU (overused) battling involves the use of Pokemon in the OU tier and every tier below it. For the list of Pokemon in each tier, please refer to http://www.smogon.com/bw/tiers/. This is one of the most popular tiers, since it leaves out Pokemon that are considered extremely powerful. There are special rules in OU battling and all of the tiers below. The use of Drizzle + Swift Swim is banned. The ability Moody is banned.

UU (underused) tier is the tier that includes UU Pokemon and all the tiers below it. Borderline Pokemon (BL) are NOT allowed to be used in UU.

RU (rarely used) tier is the tier that includes RU Pokemon and all the Pokemon in the tiers below it. Borderline 2 (BL2) Pokemon are NOT allowed to be used in RU.

NU (never used) tier includes all Pokemon that is not a part of the previous tiers.

LC (little cup) battling only involves the use of Pokemon in their first evolution stage [so Pokemon like Chansey and Scizor are banned since they have earlier evolution stages]. If the Pokemon only has one evolution stage, such as Heracross, it is banned from LC. Furthermore, Pokemon that is included in any of the above tiers is banned.

NFE (not fully evolved) battling makes use of the Pokemon that are not in their final stages of evolution. Pokemon that are included in any of the above tiers except LC are banned.

More Basic Rules:

In Standard 5th Gen Battling, 5th generation Pokemon with dream world abilities are not allowed. For the list of dream world Pokemon and their abilities, see http://www.serebii.net/blackwhite/dreamworldabilities.shtml.

Each team will have 6 Pokemon. Standard 5th Gen battles will all be single battles, so only one Pokemon from each side will battle at a time. The first person to lose all 6 Pokemon loses the battle. There is only a tie if both players have no Pokemon remaining at the end of the turn.

Explanation of Pokemon base stats:

Each Pokemon has its own base stats. For example, Bulbasaur's base stats are HP: 45, Attack: 49, Defense: 49, Special Attack: 65, Special Defense: 65, and speed: 45. These values represent the Pokemon's stat values at Level 50 plus 5 if the EVs and IVs for the stat are both 0. In other words, if I have a Bulbasaur at level 50 with 0 IVs and 0 EVs, it will have the following stats: HP: 50, Attack: 54, Defense: 54, Special Attack: 70, Special Defense: 70, and speed: 50. Base stat is a very efficient way of comparing whether one Pokemon is more powerful than another, since they represent each Pokemon's stats on an equal level. For example, An Arceus with base stats HP: 120, Attack: 120, Defense: 120, Special Attack: 120, Special Defense: 120, and Speed: 120 is clearly more powerful than a Sunkern with base stats HP: 30, Attack: 30, Defense: 30, Special Attack: 30, Special Defense: 30, and Speed: 30. Base stats are one of the factors that determine a Pokemon's stat value at a certain level. A good place to look up a Pokemon's base stats is http://veekun.com/.

Explanations of IVs:

Individual Values, also known as IVs, are set numbers that determine a Pokemon's stat values. They are set once the Pokemon is hatched/caught/received and cannot be changed unless by some hacking device or similar tools. IVs are vital numbers in competitive battling. IVs apply for each individual stat of a Pokemon. The IV is always some number between 0-31. You usually want the highest possible, since the higher the IV, the higher that stat will be. At level 100, IVs will account for 31 stat values for a stat. For example, a Pokemon at level 100 with 0 IVs in attack will have 31 lower attack than a Pokemon at level 100 with 31 IVs in attack. IVs are also the determining values for the type and power of a Pokemon's Hidden Power move. Generally, the strongest Hidden Powers will require very high IVs in each stat. To find out a Pokemon's Hidden Power given its IVs, use http://www.psypokes.com/dex/hp.php. To find out a Pokemon's IVs, use http://veekun.com/dex/gadgets/stat_calculator.

Explanation of EVs:

Effort values, also known as EVs, are another set of numbers that directly affects a Pokemon's stat values. A total of 510 EVs can be distributed to one Pokemon. Each stat of a Pokemon has its own number of EVs. A maximum of 255 EVs may be acquired for each stat. Every 4 EVs for a particular stat will increase that Pokemon's stat by 1 at level 100. EVs are obtained for every opposing Pokemon that is killed. Based on the Pokemon that is defeated, different EVs are given. In competitive battling, EVs can be modified so training Pokemon for EVs in unnecessary. Evs are vital to modifying a Pokemon. For example, to make the best out of a Weavile, you would want to max out its attack EVs and speed EVs because those are its highest stats, and its special stats and defenses are nearly useless.

Explanation of Natures:

Natures are additional properties of a Pokemon that help with stat modification. There are a total of 25 natures. A Pokemon with a specific nature will have one of its stats lowered by 10% and one stat raised by 10%. 4 of the natures are neutral, meaning that they have no effect on the Pokemon's stats (generally, these natures are not preferred since they do not help modify a Pokemon's stats). The 10% increases/decreases are calculated once all other factors are added into the Pokemon's stats, so this additional 10% will come after base stats, EVs, and IVs. For the list of natures, see http://veekun.com/dex/natures.

Stat Optimization:

Stat optimization is an essential part of making a Pokemon the best it can be. By using EVs, IVs, and natures properly, a Pokemon can be made much more powerful than it seems. With stat optimization, EVs are usually the most crucial part, since IVs should usually be set to max. Keep in mind that a total of 510 EVs may be distributed across a Pokemon's stats. Furthermore, only every 4 EVs will count for one stat increase, so in actuality, only 508 of the 510 EVs matter. Only a maximum of 255 EVs may be distributed to a specific stat, but only every 4 EVs will count for an increase in a stat, so by distributing 252 EVs to a stat will still max it out, and leave 3 EVs to place in a different stat. By properly placing EVs, a Starmie with 4 HP EVs, 252 Sp. Atk EVs, and 252 Spe EVs will be slightly better than a Starmie with 255 Sp. Atk EVs and 255 Spe EVs. In addition, by giving a nature such as Modest, (-atk, +sp. atk) will further strengthen the Starmie since Starmies cannot do much with their physical attack stat, but their special attack stat will be raised. Therefore, by using natures, a many Pokemon can be empowered with little to no loss.