here's my edit/comments/questions: also at the beginning i asked chaos about Overused vs. Over Used and got back the Overused is better, but I dunno. I think it looks better at the "tier description" section to separate them. Easy enough to fix though
edits and stuff in bold
<h2>Smogon's Tier System - An Introduction</h2>
<p>A tier system, in the most general sense of the phrase, is a ranking system that ranks multiple components of interest in relation to one another. In other words, the “rank” of each component of the tier system is defined based purely on the position of other components within the same system.
To become more specific, in the tier system employed here at Smogon, the components being ranked
are, of course, Pokemon. Rather than being ranked individually, Pokemon are grouped into several subsets based on their perceived power
and/or how often they are used, henceforth referred to as tiers.</p>
I don't like using rank so often in the first sentence, but I had trouble coming up with something better!
<p>Tiers are calculated based on both power and usage in order to balance competitive battling. For example, the
Overused (OU) environment is comprised of Pokemon who are frequently used in battle. The Borderline (BL) tier is calculated by looking at Pokemon who aren't necessarily used as
much but are judged to be too powerful to participate in the Underused (UU) metagame.</p>
I think perhaps since this is an introduction to Smogon's Tier System, all tier types should be mentioned from Ubers on down to Neverused. Perhaps just merging with the “For example” paragraph.
<h2>Why even employ a Tier System?</h2>
<p>The tier system is used in order to aid in creating independent metagames that players can participate in and enjoy. The standards set by Smogon's tier system seek to balance each metagame, ensuring no Pokemon is "too powerful" or over-centralizes the respective metagame it appears in. This
allows players the flexibility to show "flair" in their team design rather than being restricted to using a particular Pokemon to win.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the tier system is by no means set in stone. In fact, it is constantly changing. As people are consistently engaging in competitive battles, new strategies and movesets arise that may have previously been overlooked. With increased play testing, some Pokemon may become more popular they once were, or their usage may drop. With this in mind, the Smogon tier system is reviewed and
updated to ensure that each metagame is balanced, as to provide maximum enjoyment for every competitive battler out there no matter which metagame they choose to participate in.</p>
I would rewrite the first sentence to have more emphasis on the “unique” and “independent” aspects of each metagame, but it dawns on me that I don't really know how much emphasis we at smogon place on them not just being OU-lite etc. Theoretically you could then go on about how different they are (the lack of auto weather allowing for more non sandstorm/hail teams, trick room's viability etc.) but again, I'm not so sure that's one of the reasons the tiers balance out.
<h2>An Overview of the Tiers</h2>
<p>There are five main tiers in Smogon's tier system. Pokemon present in a specific tier remain unique to that tier. This said, the metagames designed around them are flexible in the sense that even Pokemon in lower tiers may participate. Of course, Pokemon in higher tiers may not, otherwise there would be no point in employing a tier system in the first place. For example, this basically means BL, UU and NU Pokemon can partake in the OU metagame, but you'll never see a BL Pokemon in the NU metagame.</p>
<p>Please note that although there are five tiers, there are not five individual metagames. The Uber and BL tiers exist purely to restrict Pokemon from participating they are otherwise too powerful for, based entirely on the respective power of each Pokemon. Though the Uber tier allows for any Pokemon to be used, you will find that there is no real BL metagame as such. Competitive battlers will for the most part participate in the OU, UU and NU environments.</p>
I don't really like this second paragraph. I mean, an Ubers metagame of sorts has formed from repeated playing. Perhaps the emphasis should be on only three balanced metagames existing. A BL meta may come up at some point (though highly unlikely if top BL contenders keep getting bumped into OU) it just won't be balanced. BL is such a shaky subject it's really hard to make any generalisations about it.
<dl>
<dt>Ubers</dt>
<dd><p>
The Uber tier is conceived based purely on the power of the Pokemon present within it. Pokemon in the Uber tier are considered to be too powerful for even the OU metagame, and therefore are grouped in this tier,
banning them from OU play.</p>
<p>
Those who wish to play with Ubers may do so, of course, and though Pokemon in the Uber tier are banned from OU play, no Pokemon is banned from competing with those in the Uber tier, resulting in a sort of “catch-all” metagame with no restrictions on Pokemon participation.</p><dd>
I wrote in “OU play” etc. but I would strongly recommend that we emphasise OU as “standard.” As in, the “standard metagame” which has a cutoff point at the OU tier. This way we don't get as much confusion over “Uus can't play in OU since they aren't OU!” etc. I can see how the confusion comes about since in all these tier descriptions there is a metagame associated with it.
Also maybe a note about how most Nintendo/otherwise events allow for ubers?
<dt>Over Used (OU)</dt>
<dd>This is the most prevalent
tier and self-explanatory in nature. The Pokemon present in this tier are the most used Pokemon in regards to competitive battling as a whole. By extension, as the statisitics
used to classify Pokemon in this tier are generated based on players battling competitively, one may assume that the Pokemon in this tier
succeed in one or more areas based on a combination on their respective stats, abilities and movepools.<dd>
Again, I might put in a note that this is the cutoff point for play in the “standard” metagame and that no Pokemon in a higher tier (Ubers) are allowed.
<dt>Borderline (BL)</dt>
<dd><p>Pokemon in the BL tier receive less usage than their OU counterparts, but for the purpose of the competitive battling environment, are considered to be on equal footing in terms of their power. In fact, the BL tier is based entirely on the perceived power of particular Pokemon; while they may not be overly used, they are too powerful to partake in the UU environment.<p>
<p>Do not fall into the trap of not considering BL Pokemon when creating an OU team; the very fact that these Pokemon fall into this tier represents the fact that they are still potentially quite powerful. The only thing differentiating OU Pokemon from BL Pokemon is the fact that BL Pokemon simply aren't used in battle quite as often.</p><dd>
Is that last paragraph really necessary? This isn't a team building article; it's a description of tiers. The first does a good enough job of differentiating between OU, BL, and UU.
<dt>Under Used (UU)</dt>
<dd><p>Pokemon in the UU tier can be considered to be somewhat "weaker" than Pokemon in above tiers, or Pokemon that would simply not operate effectively in the OU environment due to the nature of the metagame, or otherwise simply being outclassed by another more prevalent Pokemon.</p>
Alternate paragraph:
“Pokemon in the UU tier are, simply, underused. That is, when battling in the OU metagame, they will not be seen as much, likely because they are too weak, whether in stats, movepool, or ability, to be competitive in OU play.”
<p>Due to UU Pokemon being largely marginalized by the OU metagame, players may engage in the UU metagame. The standards set by the UU metagame disallow
higher tiered Pokemon from
participating, giving their underused counterparts a chance to
battle. Many players will find the UU metagame to be appealing as they receive the opportunity to battle competitively with Pokemon that would otherwise be overlooked.</p><dd>
I think a description similar to the one in the OU tier discussion would serve just as well here with only a few changes. And once more: I really don't like describing the standard metagame as the “OU environment” for the same reasons. Also I would remove the part about UU metagame being appealing because I don't think that's the purpose of this article.
<dt>Never Used (NU)</dt>
<dd><p>Pokemon present in the NU tier are seen to lack qualities that would even allow them to operate effectively in a UU environment, either because of a poor combination
of base stats, abilities and movepools, or due to the fact that a Pokemon in the UU tier outclasses them at their particular role in a team.</p>
<p>NU Pokemon are Pokemon which, as the name of the tier implies,
are rarely used, if at all. For that reason, players may choose to participate in the NU
metagame, the most restrictive competitive metagame. In NU play, only Pokemon in the NU tier are allowed, the rest are banned. This allows Pokemon that are seemingly never used to be pitted against one another in a competitive battling environment in a metagame that is far more balanced in regards to which Pokemon they are likely to be fighting.</p><dd>
Does the NU tier allow for Pokemon that are simply outclassed? If so, I'd postulate that NU really isn't all that balanced. Of course, to balance it there would have to be another pseudo-BL tier which no one wants. Depending on the answer to this question the last sentence will need to be revised.
