Other Metagame Ladders

Introduction

Other Metagame ladders are any ladder in the 'Other Metagame' section of tiers you can select on Pokémon Showdown! These tiers are submitted by the community, for the community! Each tier has a different quirk and is very different from the standard tiers. Many of these formats have harder ladders than others, and many have a certain playstyle that dominates, so each one varies! Here are the tiers:

CAP

CAP stands for 'Create-A-Pokémon', a concept that is run on Smogon forums by the users! If you're interested in contributing to this, come check it out here. This ladder allows the use of all CAP Pokémon that have been created. Any Pokémon can be used (bar Uber Pokémon) on this ladder as well—there's no need to run a team of six CAP Pokémon. This tier is special because no other tier allows the use of CAP Pokémon. To find out what CAP Pokémon there are, you can scroll to the very bottom of the teambuilder where the 'CAP' section is, underneath the 'Unrealeased' section. This tier is playable at all times and can be found right at the top of the 'Other Metagames' section when you're searching for a battle.

If you're interested in getting involved with this metagame, here are some teams to help you learn the basics. This ladder isn't exactly the most active, but you're sure to find battles! If you're having a bit of trouble finding someone, check out the CAP room on Pokémon Showdown!, as there is usually someone who's willing to battle you there. At the time of writing, user Animus Majulous resides at the top of this ladder, so if you happen to run into him on the ladder, be prepared for a great battle. If you're interested in laddering on the CAP ladder, you should also check out the subforum for some information and help regarding some threats to watch out for, how to teambuild, and other information.

Challenge Cup

Challenge Cup is essentially Random Battle taken even further. Everything is completely random, as all moves, items, and Pokémon are randomly generated. In this format, you are given six Pokémon that all follow this rule. This ladder is quite a popular one because any user can get on and play it! No teams are needed to play, as they are provided. Generally, the move Double Team is one of the best moves to get, because Evasion is a great stat to abuse because it frustrates the opponent and allows your Pokémon to use its free turns to do whatever it likes. This metagame can be a bit tough at first, as having no clue what you'll get when heading into a match can be difficult. There really is no strategy involved in playing Challenge Cup—it's really all about your knowledge of playing.

Challenge Cup also has a 1-vs-1 option that follows the 'everything is random' rule; however, the change in 1-vs-1 is that you can only select one Pokémon to battle the opponent. Both of these metagames can be found in the 'Other Metagames' section of the tiers that you can select to battle from. At the time that this was written, user dude789 was at #1 on the Challenge Cup ladder while user Wan the Avatar was #1 of the Challenge Cup 1-vs-1 ladder.

Balanced Hackmons

Balanced Hackmons is one of the most popular Other Metagames there is, or at least it used to be. A recent change to the metagame did shake it up and cause a lot of the former players to stop playing. This change was the 'Team Preview + 510 EVs' change, which makes Balanced Hackmons now include Team Preview and have the limit of EVs set to a maximum of 510 per Pokémon, whereas there was no limit before. This was to stay true to in-game mechanics. Anyway, Balanced Hackmons is a metagame where all abilities (except for Parental Bond, Huge Power / Pure Power, and Shadow Tag / Arena Trap), all moves, and all Pokémon are allowed. There are some odd combinations possible, such as the ability to Mega Evolve Mega Evolutions or use Sturdy on a Shedinja! It's quite a wild metagame with some popular threats including Kyurem-B, Mega Gengar, and both Mega Mewtwos.

Residing at the top of the ladder at the time of writing sits Tstatic 2, with another very prominent player being LLW【天龍神】. This ladder is one of the harder ladders to climb because it has some very good players at the top, including the aforementioned users. It's also quite an unpredictable ladder—you could run into a standard team one battle and a team with a Claydol the next. Here you can find some sample teams to help you begin this metagame. Look around in the Other Metagames subforum for more on Balanced Hackmons as well—there are many threads on it.

1v1

From merely glancing at the title, one can infer exactly what 1v1 is. In this metagame, one Pokémon faces off against one other Pokémon. A new change that happened this generation is that there is now Team Preview with each person bringing three Pokémon. This does not mean that you will be using three, however; you may only pick one. This adds another level of depth to the metagame and makes for a guessing game with high paced and quick battles! Some popular items to utilize include Choice Band or Choice Specs for that immediate boost in power, and you don't have to worry about being locked into an unfavorable move, as you will only face one opponent. Focus Sash is banned as well, while some Ubers, such as Gengarite and Lucarionite, are allowed. Sitting at the top of the 1v1 ladder is Hokky1, with aesffs extremely close behind. The Immortal is the leader of this tier, so if you have any concerns, go to him.

Monotype

Monotype is a very popular tier that stays true to its name. Mono means one, and type means type, so in other words, it is one type. Your team must all share a single typing. This leads to some crazy teams that utilize some lesser known Pokémon. There are obviously types that are more popular than others, thus creating a larger selection of Pokémon to chose from. Some popular types include Water- and Flying-type mono teams. Rain is a very prevalent threat in Monotype for this reason, as most Swift Swim users have Water typing. A concern that many people have with Monotype is the prevalence of team matchup, as one side will clearly have an advantage. Take Water Monotype versus Fire Monotype: isn't it quite easy to point out who has the obvious advantage? That's what you as a teambuilder are building for—countering threats! Don't let what is seemingly a turnoff stray you from playing Monotype, as it's quite a fun tier.

User All Falls Down resides at the current very top of Monotype ladder, at the time of writing. Some other notable players include Nani Man, who also happens to be the owner of the Monotype room and the leader of the tier! Monotype has a large playerbase, and chances are, you've probably even tried out Monotype yourself for the giggles. If you're looking for some help on getting started, come on over to the Monotype room on Pokémon Showdown!, as there are more than enough people who are willing to help you out.

Tier Shift

Tier Shift is a metagame of great diversity, where stat boosts are offered to every Pokémon in any tier below OU. These boosts vary in amount depending on the tier, but all are very significant. Some Pokémon that formerly had no niche whatsoever, such as Sawk and Durant, now become top tier threats. Even the smallest added umph to Speed comes in handy, and no boost isn't enjoyed. This isn't to say that you can't use OU Pokémon, as many of them are just as viable as they were before! An aspect of Tier Shift that many enjoy is the stability and balance of the tier; there's not a lean towards stall or offense, and everything is viable! Now, don't go sending your NU team directly into Tier Shift, as chances are, you won't have a good outcome. Likewise, not all NU Pokémon are viable, although many are still buffed. At the time of writing this article, user arkeis was #1 on the Tier Shift ladder, with another notable player being word. This tier is led by nobody in particular, but the ultimate changes do come down to the Other Metagame mods.

PU

PU is essentially the 'NU of NU', or the tier below NU. A common misconception is what PU actually stands for, so allow me to clear it up. PU does not stand for anything really; not Poorly Used, not Passably Used, and definitely not Particularly Useless. PU basically means the noise that you make when you smell something as rotten as a spoiled milk, implying that the Pokémon stink. And, in a sense, this is the tier for Pokémon that don't really have great niches in higher tiers. The lowest of the low, basically. PU was very popular last generation, and this generation it comes back in full swing, with the new leader being WhiteDMist and a council of well-versed PU fellows. PU is a very popular tier already, despite being only recently added to the ladder. Coming over to the Other Metagames room on Pokémon Showdown! for some advice is always recommended!

Currently, at the time of writing, ebin pu king is at #1 of the PU ladder. Some other influential players include Hollywood and TRC. Laddering PU and learning the tier is a bit tricky at first, but with help from others and some dedication, laddering high is achievable. Do be warned, though, that there are many good players on the ladder that don't go down easily. Another thing about the ladder is the unpredictability. PU is a tier with many different options for many different Pokémon and many different sets to explore and discover!

Almost Any Ability (AAA)

Almost Any Ability, or 'AAA', as it's commonly referred to, is a tier that gives away what the metagame is just with its name. If you haven't guessed yet, AAA is a metagame where almost any ability is allowed to be used. The following abilities and Pokémon are banned: Archeops, Kyurem-B, Regigigas, Shedinja + Sturdy, Slaking, Smeargle + Prankster, and Weavile; while the following abilities and Pokémon are unbanned: Aegislash, Blaziken, Deoxys-D, Deoxys-S, Genesect, Mawilite, and Shaymin-S. This allows for many creative elements to be added into teambuilding and boosts the viability of many Pokémon. This tier is currently led by asterat. At the time of writing, user largato resides at the top of the ladder, while some other notable players include, LLW【天龍神】, Kl4ng, and asterat himself.

STABmons

STABmons is a very popular metagame that features a tier in which all Pokémon can use any move that corresponds to its typing. For instance, Sableye can use Dark Void, Kangaskhan can use Extreme Speed, and Flareon can use V-Create! One would think that all you'd see is Belly Drum + Extreme Speed spam, but this is not the case in the slightest. STABmons was very popular last generation and comes back swinging, with the leader of the tier still being The Eevee General. Many Pokémon get a chance to shine as well, as formerly NU threats like Stoutland or even UU threats like Sableye rise to prominence in this high-action tier. Do note that by high-action I do not mean just hyper offense, as stall is a fantastic playstyle and extremely common high up on the ladder.

Speaking of higher-ups of the ladder, user Leafstorm121 resided at the top spot of the STABmons ladder. Some other well-known STABmons players include word and ellipse, two fantastic battlers. Achieving the top of the STABmons ladder can be tricky, as there are many great players on it. Testing out some teams that you can find here may be a good idea to help you get accustomed. Some other ways to help you get into STABmons include checking out the Other Metagames room on Pokémon Showdown! or battling the STABmons Frontier!

Sky Battles

Sky Battles follows the in-game mechanics of a newly introduced battle challenge: Sky Battles. In this metagame, most Flying-types and most Pokémon with the ability Levitate are used. Mega Evolutions like Mega Charizard X are allowed, despite being neither, because Charizard in its base form is eligible. There are a few banned moves, but most of them are irrelevant anyway because they are often Ground-type moves. Sky Battles is a tier where most Pokémon are weak to Stealth Rock, making it a very prevalent threat, while removing it is an even larger task! Many popular OU threats such as Talonflame and Mega Charizard X are very prominent, while some lower tier Pokémon, including Cresselia and Bronzong, are also quite popular. Residing at the top of the ladder is GREENLOVE, at the time of writing. Sky Battles isn't exactly the most popular tier, so finding a battle may take a bit of time! Nonetheless, go out and try it, it may surprise you!

Inverse Battles

Inverse Battles is another metagame that follows an in-game challenge. In Inverse Battles, the type chart is completely inverted. Fairy-types are weak to Fighting-type moves but resist Steel-type moves, Steel-types are weak to Fairy-type moves but resist Fire-type moves, and so on. This creates a very interesting metagame that can be a bit hard to grasp the concept of. Many threats like Mew and Avalugg must be taken into account. Normal-types are also very prominent because nothing resists their STAB moves. At the current time of writing, user sylink85 sits at the top of the Inverse Battles ladder. Another very prominent Inverse Battles player is word.

Now that you've learned about Other Metagames ladders, I hope that you're encouraged to go out and explore them for yourselves! Good luck in your laddering endeavors!

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