Resource Simple Questions, Simple Answers Thread (read the op before posting a thread)

Ortheore said:
Is there somewhere that I can find the full rulesets for Ubers and OU for every generation? I'm trying to put them into writing, but I'm having difficulty keeping track of all the bullshit little complex bans that end up being implemented in every generation. For instance, I don't recall what was done with Sand Veil in DPP, nor do I know what's been done with weather based speed-boosting abilities in BW, since for a while it seemed like they were under constant revision. Those are just examples though, I'm really after the full rulesets for each generation

Obviously I tried RoA, but no-one responded, so now I've come here and I'm gonna keep spamming every forum that seems remotely relevant until I get an answer
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As a stopgap, you can see the ruleset on PS with the /tier [tiername] command, as a dropdown next to Banlist/Ruleset. Keep in mind you want to use the PS name (so gen5ou instead of bwou for example), and that a [thing] + [thing] ban is on a single Pokemon while [thing] ++ [thing] is on the whole team.
 
MaahirMomtaz12 said:
Does anyone know when the slate will be finished??
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Friday. I tally the votes, compute the results, determine the future discussion points, and write the entire justification myself. I have an exam on Thursday and SmogonTour to prepare for, so this has been a busier week. On top of that, every time someone bugs me about it, I have been adding 12 hours to the time it will be up, so I hope everyone can be patient in the meantime.
 
If I had a Tapu Lele on my team that summoned Psychic Terrain, and during the turns Psychic Terrain was up, my own Pokémon used a priority move, would it fail?
 
NylaTheWolf said:
If I had a Tapu Lele on my team that summoned Psychic Terrain, and during the turns Psychic Terrain was up, my own Pokémon used a priority move, would it fail?
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Yeah. Any mon under Psychic Terrain that is grounded is affected though, so a mon like Torn-T using a priority move or something.
 
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NylaTheWolf said:
If I had a Tapu Lele on my team that summoned Psychic Terrain, and during the turns Psychic Terrain was up, my own Pokémon used a priority move, would it fail?
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MysticalHaze said:
Yeah. Any mon under Psychic Terrain that is grounded is affected.
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Not exactly: terrains affect pokemons only when they are targeted and grounded.

So situations like Sucker Punch on Landorus-T or Haze from Murkrow will happen regardless of the Psychic Terrain
 
I wasn't sure where to post this, so I'll just post it here. If this is the wrong place, I'm sorry.

I'm not experienced with competitive play, so for a lot of you, this is a noob question.

I want to RNG a Zapdos on Heartgold for the Battle Maison on X and I want it to have HP Ice. I've done my research online and have found out that for a pokémon to have HP Ice, the best IV spreads are
31/31/31/31/31/30
31/30/30/31/31/31
or 30/31/30/31/31/31

Which one of those is best for that Bold Zapdos that Smogon recommends and which one is the best for the calm one? I know it doesn't make that much of a difference but if I'm going to RNG a pokémon, I actually want it to be perfect.

Thanks in advance.
 
kyurem47 said:
I wasn't sure where to post this, so I'll just post it here. If this is the wrong place, I'm sorry.

I'm not experienced with competitive play, so for a lot of you, this is a noob question.

I want to RNG a Zapdos on Heartgold for the Battle Maison on X and I want it to have HP Ice. I've done my research online and have found out that for a pokémon to have HP Ice, the best IV spreads are
31/31/31/31/31/30
31/30/30/31/31/31
or 30/31/30/31/31/31

Which one of those is best for that Bold Zapdos that Smogon recommends and which one is the best for the calm one? I know it doesn't make that much of a difference but if I'm going to RNG a pokémon, I actually want it to be perfect.

Thanks in advance.
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Since the levels will be set to 50 in Battle Maison, there is no real difference between them. I would go for 31/X/30/31/31/31 (X being any even number) in case you ever wanted to use it outside of battle maison.
The reason the attack stat can be anything is because in gen 6 onwards, Hidden Power is set at 60 Base Power. Zapdos also doesn't use its Attack stat. If you really want to go out of your way to make it perfect, you could go for 0IVs in attacks, this is done to lower Foul Play damage done to Zapdos.
 
Quint_ said:
Since the levels will be set to 50 in Battle Maison, there is no real difference between them. I would go for 31/X/30/31/31/31 (X being any even number) in case you ever wanted to use it outside of battle maison.
The reason the attack stat can be anything is because in gen 6 onwards, Hidden Power is set at 60 Base Power. Zapdos also doesn't use its Attack stat. If you really want to go out of your way to make it perfect, you could go for 0IVs in attacks, this is done to lower Foul Play damage done to Zapdos.
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Thanks for your reply. Is 31/0/30/31/31/31 the best for the calm one and 31/3/31/31/31/30 the best for the Bold one?
 
I can't find a thread more appropriate for this question: How does one build a balance team? Not specifically for OU, but generally. Like, what's the make up, and how do balance teams play?
 
VCrakeV said:
I can't find a thread more appropriate for this question: How does one build a balance team? Not specifically for OU, but generally. Like, what's the make up, and how do balance teams play?
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Balance teams have a ton of versatility, so this question is challenging to answer without going wayyyyy too long for one post to explain. However, the goal of balance teams should be to combine offensive presences and Pokemon that can make progress in games with defensive presences that are capable of checking/countering opposing Pokemon and stopping/minimizing the progress they may be able to make. You should also make sure to have a certain degree of focus on synergy, meaning that your Pokemon should work well together and work together to achieve progress in games or victory as an end result. For example, the core of Heatran and Tangrowth works well as a balanced backbone seeing as Heatran is capable of setting up Stealth Rock, trapping things like Clefable or Toxapex, and doing offensive damage while Tangrowth is able to check problematic Ground or Water types (i.e: Greninja and Zygarde) while also crippling/chipping away things with various attacks such as Knock Off, but it is more passive against bulkier presences like Clefable or Toxapex.

My best advice for balanced teambuilding would be to try and make sure that you have what you personally feel is a sufficient offensive gameplan to beat bulkier teams while also having enough of a defensive backbone to check/counter common offensive threats. It is really a middleground playstyle that is intended to maximize consistency, so try not to overemphasize on any individual strategy or element, but rather cover as much as you can both offensively and defensively without compromising anything fundamentally necessary to the teams ability to function.

Here is an example of a balance team I made for a teammate of mine to use in a tour a couple months back. As you can see, it has a defensive backbone with Celesteela, Tangrowth, and Mega Tyranitar; these three synergize well with each other while also not being overly passive, thus promoting cohesive gameplanning and gameplay that does not leave you consistently falling behind against faster paced teams. On the other hand, Tapu Lele, Ash Greninja, and Tornadus-Therian provide an offensive side to the team, giving us the ability to break through other teams as the game goes on, set up Spikes, remove opposing hazards that may impede upon our own play, and even generate our own momentum. Not all balances need to follow any specific blueprint or even look anything close to this as it is a very versatile playstyle that can use a plethora of different viable Pokemon, but just make sure to try to generally cover what I touched on above and you should be taking steps in the right direction!
 
VCrakeV said:
I can't find a thread more appropriate for this question: How does one build a balance team? Not specifically for OU, but generally. Like, what's the make up, and how do balance teams play?
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Balance is by definition a versatile playstyle with a multitude of iterations, so there isn't such a thing as a balance building formula. In general you're going to want a defensive core that can support your team while checking most of the threats in the metagame, usually with hazard support and hazard removal (but not always these can be given to an offensive mon). There's no such thing as a best core and all the commonly used ones while pretty solid have their unique vulnerabilities.

Offensively you want a plan to break these common cores, as it doesn't matter a lick how threatening your sweepers are if you can't remove their checks. This can be done with dedicated breakers, lures, or just overwhelming the opponent with redundant threats (IE two strong psychic attackers like Lele and Zam). It's also nice but not necessary to have game-flipping threats like Volcarona that put pressure on your opponent to strategize around.

My recommendation for building a balance team:

Make an offensive game plan to break opposing bulky/balance cores (stall too if you don't like autolosses but that can be a bit harder). Usually I start with a mon I want to use. Then I write out what it can't break and come up with team mates that will do that. Once I've got my offensive plan intact I write out a threat list, and try to pick a defensive support core that will cover as many of the most used and dangerous threats as possible. After I have this initial build I playtest it a bit to see what I didn't anticipate on paper/doesn't work like I thought it would and adjust appropriately.
 
Johnny's Pouch said:
Can you show me an example?
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By far the most important factor is to provide replays, especially at higher ladder levels (or tour replays) to support your case.

I do not have a post on hand but in a nutshell:

- The Pokemon needs to present a viable niche that is beneficial.
- Replays supporting the reason

Jordy is correct otherwise the rules have an example nomination post.
 
Guys what about this team
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Energy Ball
- Shadow Ball

Hawlucha @ Power Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sky Attack
- Substitute
- Drain Punch
- Swords Dance

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon

Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Play Rough

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 200 HP / 128 Def / 52 SpA / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Muddy Water
- Haze
- Moonblast
 
RetroSpecter2 said:
Guys what about this team
Alakazam @ Alakazite
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Calm Mind
- Energy Ball
- Shadow Ball

Hawlucha @ Power Herb
Ability: Unburden
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sky Attack
- Substitute
- Drain Punch
- Swords Dance

Magnezone @ Choice Specs
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flash Cannon

Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Play Rough

Mew @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
Careful Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Roost
- Knock Off
- Stealth Rock

Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 200 HP / 128 Def / 52 SpA / 128 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Muddy Water
- Haze
- Moonblast
Click to expand...
https://www.smogon.com/forums/forums/sm-ou-teams.409/

I believe this would be the the more appropriate area to post this team, although it will require full length descriptions of each team member, this is a simple questions thread and full teams shouldn't be posted here
 
Hey whats showdown gonna be doing with lets go? Will it be implemented as a side metagame or will it be ignored for the superior gen 7?

Sorry if this is wrong place to ask, if it is please tell me where i can ask
 
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