Introduction to ADV LC

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Introduction

ADV Little Cup is exactly how it sounds: Little Cup played in Generation 3! It has roots going all the way back to 2014, and it was recently brought back to life by the Todd Bonzalez ADV LC Open, which featured a cash prize and attracted a large number of players. Since then, ADV LC has been showcased on Ruins of Alph Spotlight ladders and in Ruins of Alph Spotlight tournaments. ADV LC features some familiar Pokémon from other generations of Little Cup like Porygon, Abra, Diglett, and Doduo, as well as some Pokémon that aren't seen as much in future generations like Anorith, Larvitar, and Exeggcute.

Physical Special Rock Fire Ground Water Bug Grass Steel Electric Fighting Dark Flying Psychic Normal Ice Poison Dragon Ghost

A major difference that separates ADV LC from other generations of Little Cup is the lack of the physical/special split. While some Pokémon benefit from this difference, others are less fortunate.

Winners

In general, physical attackers (like Doduo) appreciate having access to physical Hidden Power for coverage. Another big winner is Elekid, which gets access to the coveted BoltBeam coverage through Ice Punch and Thunderbolt, leaving its Hidden Power type open for even more coverage. While not as impactful as the other two cases mentioned, Houndour appreciates being able to run its Dark-type attacks off of its higher Special Attack stat.

Losers

A less fortunate Pokémon is Gastly, which is unable to take advantage of its STAB moves with its excellent base 100 Special Attack and must rely on coverage moves like Psychic, Thunderbolt, and Giga Drain. Similarly, Ponyta and Carvanha are unable to run their STAB attacks off of their higher Attack stats. An extreme example is Kabuto, which has a great ability in Swift Swim and a high base 80 Attack stat, but it is completely unviable due to its awful physical movepool. While exceptions like Bagon exist, which don't rely on STAB moves to be effective, if a Pokémon's higher attacking stat doesn't line up with its typing, they'll be weaker than they are in future generations.

Items

Items (or lack thereof) and how they function are another big part of what makes ADV LC different from other generations of LC. Many commonly seen items in later generations like Eviolite, Choice Scarf, Life Orb, and Focus Sash are not present in ADV. This leaves a very small pool of usable items, the most common of which is the Sitrus Berry, but the pinch Berries and Choice Band are also common. The much smaller pool of items causes ADV LC to focus heavily on Berries and removing them.

In Generation 3, held items (such as Sitrus Berry and the pinch Berries) will not activate until the end of the turn. This is contrary to future generations, where held items will instead activate mid-turn. This changes a few interactions; some examples include not being able to use a stolen Berry immediately after using Thief and not being able to use recoil or Belly Drum damage to trigger a Berry immediately. This is especially important, because if you move before your opponent, they will have the opportunity to attack before your Sitrus Berry activates.

Sitrus Berry is the most dominant item in ADV LC and defines how the tier is played. Importantly, in Generation 3, Sitrus Berry heals 30 HP instead of the 25% of HP it heals in future generations. This is a full heal for every Pokémon in the tier. This turns 2HKOs into 3HKOs, although there are ways around this. One solution is to use an ineffective move first to avoid activating the opposing Pokémon’s Sitrus Berry, then using a more powerful move to finish it off. It’s also possible to remove the Sitrus Berry using a move like Thief.

While not as commonly seen as Sitrus Berry, the pinch Berries are still a powerful tool available to Pokémon in ADV LC. Typically combined with Substitute or Endure, they offer Speed and Attack (or Special Attack) boosts to Pokémon that might not have a way to raise those stats. For physically attacking Pokémon like Diglett, a Liechi Berry may be preferred over options like Choice Band to avoid being locked into a single move. For special attackers like Elekid, the boost a Petaya Berry provides is enough to turn 2HKOs into OHKOs. More generally, any Pokémon that can reach a Speed stat of at least 14 can take advantage of a Salac Berry to outspeed the entire unboosted metagame.

Of course, there is also counterplay to the powerful Sitrus Berry and pinch berries. Thief is a move with great distribution in ADV LC, and it's the primary form of item removal in the tier. Any Pokémon holding a Sitrus Berry is wary of Thief, as it becomes much more difficult to switch into attacks without it, and it adds insult to injury when the stolen Sitrus Berry fully heals the opposing Pokémon. Pinch Berries have another weakness in addition to being stolen—Pokémon left at low HP by their pinch Berries are easily picked off by priority users such as Elekid, Trapinch, and Doduo. Endure, a common way to reduce a Pokémon's HP to activate a pinch Berry, is also easily predicted by more experienced players, allowing them to deny the pinch Berry boost and gain a free turn.

Outside of berries, there aren’t many other choices. Items that boost the power of a Pokémon’s moves are few and far between, with just the Choice Band, Pokémon-specific items, and the type-boosting items available. Choice Band is limited to its intended use of boosting physical attacks, as Trick has poor distribution in ADV LC. It’s actually somewhat rare, because the most powerful physical moves in ADV LC are usually Normal- or Ground-type, which are dangerous to lock into, as Pokémon immune to these types are common in the tier. The main Pokémon that uses Choice Band is Doduo, but occasionally a Choice Band Diglett or Anorith will be seen as well. Type-boosting items, such as Mystic Water, boost their respective type’s move power by a measly 10% in Generation 3. This often results in doing just 1HP of extra damage! As such, type-boosting items are not seen in the tier except for an extremely niche case on Horsea (running Mystic Water gives it a better chance to OHKO Porygon with Hydro Pump.)

Key Pokémon

Now that we’ve looked at the items, let’s look at the Pokémon! Porygon is the best Pokémon in the tier by far, with most of the tier revolving around it. Porygon has many tools which make it the king of the tier, including an excellent typing, base stat total, movepool, and ability. Normal typing is very valuable in ADV LC, as Fighting-types, Fighting-type coverage, and Pokémon that resist Normal are not common in the tier. Porygon's movepool is full of powerful moves like Recycle, which gives Porygon access to its Sitrus Berry multiple times throughout the game, making it a superior healing option to Recover. Porygon's movepool also includes excellent offensive options like Double-Edge, Return, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam. It also has access to great utility options with moves like Thunder Wave and Thief. Feeling bold? A setup set is an option, as Porygon also has access to Agility! Porygon's ability, Trace, is another powerful tool in its arsenal, allowing it to copy useful abilities like Arena Trap or Volt Absorb for itself.

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With how strong Porygon sounds, you might be surprised to hear that it’s allowed at all. However, Porygon holds the tier together, providing a go-to defensive presence that every team has access to. It allows teams more creativity in the builder and in-game, as Porygon serves as amazing role compression. It is the most customizable pokemon in the tier; its EV spread and moveset can be easily adjusted to fit what purpose you need it to serve. Porygon’s stats can be adjusted to allow it tank hits from the strongest physical or special attackers in the tier. Moveset choices like Thief, Thunder Wave, and Agility can change how Porygon plays, changing it from a tank to more utility or offensively oriented Pokémon. Porygon does have a few weaknesses—its seemingly infinite supply of Sitrus Berries can be cut off by an opposing Pokémon's Thief, and it also risks being used as setup fodder by Pokémon like Anorith and Abra if played incorrectly.

Some of the other prominent threats in the tier are Doduo, Abra, and Elekid. In a tier with few reliable options to boost attacking power and no reliable options to boost Speed, these Pokémon’s naturally high attacking stats and Speed shine. Doduo makes use of Choice Band and its powerful dual STAB combination of Double-Edge and Drill Peck, while Abra and Elekid make use of their naturally high Special Attack stats and wide movepools. These Pokémon can easily run away with the game after the opposing team has been worn down a bit. Diglett, like it does in future generations of LC, carves a niche for itself with Arena Trap and high Speed. Wailmer, similarly to Porygon, is a strong defensive option. Its high bulk allows it to tank hits with ease and retaliate with powerful moves like Hydro Pump, Earthquake, and Self-Destruct. These aren’t the only options available though—other popular choices include weather sweepers like Horsea and Exeggcute, setup sweepers like Anorith, Bagon, and Larvitar, and slow-but-powerful Pokémon like Clamperl and Cubone that function best on paralysis spam teams.

So where can I play it?

If ADV LC sounds interesting to you, there are plenty of opportunities to play it! A great opportunity to get into the tier is the ADV LC Open, which features a cash prize pool of $440.25 USD) and has signups open until January 7th, 2024. There are also plenty of resources including sample teams, a viability ranking, and a Speed tier list available in the ADV LC thread, where you can also see players talk about the meta and its developments. In addition to the thread, you can always join the ADV LC Discord to discuss the meta and find friendly games!

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