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The CompetitivePokemonsystem uses tiers to rank Pokemon based on their power and usage. The competitive tiers dictate which Pokemon can battle against others, forcing you to create teams that are roughly on an even playing field.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: How to Build A Competitive Pokemon
It’s important to know the competitive tiers, as they work to create an even tournament when everyone has the same advantages. It’s important to know that a Pokemon will not have a permanent tier, and it’ll get a higher or lower rank depending on its moveset, abilities, and the current meta of the generation in play.
PU
In this tier, we can findPokemon that aren’t suitable for the highest competition levels.These Pokemon can easily be overpowered by any force, and it’s hard to fit them inside any other tier. PU doesn’t stand for anything, it’s mostly an expression that, in the competitive system, means a Pokemon stinks.
There’s a small distinction between PU Pokemon and Untiered Pokemon. The Untiered Pokemoncan be played in PU, but to be considered a part of PU, there’sa chance to see it in a team more than once in 15 battles.
Below, you’ll find a list of all the Pokemon that are part of the PU tier:
Vespiquen
NU – NeverUsed
This is a common tier for Pokemon that aren’t that famous with competitive fansmostly because of theirwacky stats, a poor movepool, or just a lack of synergywith other Pokemon.
you may usually find fully evolved Pokemon here, but there are some cases when you can find second-stages that are good enough to be considered for NU tournaments.
Zoroark
RU – RarelyUsed
Stands for Rarely Used.As their name indicates, these arePokemon that are rarely used in the highest competitive tiers.They are good Pokemon, but not enough to defeat the Pokemon of UU and OU.
Here,you can find some Pokemon that can even make it to OU, but only in extraordinary cases, and only during some momentsuntil someone finds a way to counter them, so it returns to RU. For example, while Paradox Pokemon like Brute Bonnet and Iron Thorns were in higher tiers when Scarlet & Violet launched, lots of them have since had counters found that push them down to RU.
Weavile
UU – UnderUsed
These Pokemonare very good, but not enough to reach OU.You can sometimes see UU Pokemon in OU, but it’s rare, as these Pokemondon’t have a viable movepoolor have an abilitythat doesn’t help it muchduring battles.
In short, if a Pokemon is in this tier, it is about to make it to the Standard Meta, but there is likely a Pokemon that can do the same job better than it.
Paldean Tauros (Aqua and Blaze)
Wo-Chien
UUBL – UnderUsed Banned List
Stands for Under Used Banned List.This is a sub-tier between UU and OU where you can findPokemon that are very powerfuland destroy most of the threats of UU,but get outpowered by the Pokemon in OU.
A Pokemon of this tier isn’t strictly worse than an OU one, but they fall flat or get outclassed by other Pokemon with the same characteristics, but better ability usage, a wider movepool, or simply because it has more even stats.
Currently, there are only two Pokemon in UUBL:Iron Hands and Iron Leaves.They are in a kind of limbo where they can’t be played in lower tiers, but aren’t usable in higher tiers either, making thisthe only tier they’re playable in.
OU – OverUsed
Alongside Uber,all the Pokemon in this tier are considered part of the standard competitive meta.Here, we can find Pokemon with powerful stats, great abilities, and a wide movepool with many options.
This is the most famous tier, and the most competitive one.It’s harder to succeed in OU than in Uber due tothe larger range of Pokemon and teams you need to account for.
Hisuian Zoroark
Uber
Uber is the most powerful tier of the standard meta.Here, you may find themost powerful Pokemonthat can break the rest of the tiers easily. In fact, in most of the tournaments, the usage of Ubers gets limited to a max of one or two Pokemon per team.
This isthe only tier where you may play any Pokemon from the rest of the tiers.
Palafin
Other Categories and Battle Formats
Outside of the regular tiers, there are a host of community-made categories designed to give room to not fully evolved Pokemon, baby Pokemon, overpowered legendary Pokemon, Pokemon not available in Scarlet and Violet, andPokemon not viable in the competitive system.
Many people play on these formats, as they can be more relaxed and let you build strategies that are fun to play, butwouldn’t be viable in high-level competitive matches.
National Dex
The Pokemon in this category aren’t available in Scarlet and Violetyet (or will never be included in the game). The Pokemon in this tier will use their latest movepool, but removing all the moves that weren’t included in the last game. The National Dex category is split into tiers that work exactly like the Standard Tiers.Examples:Aegislash, Aerodactyl, Calyrex, Chandelure, Deoxys, All Galarian Forms, All Hisuian Forms, All Alolan Forms, All Mega Evolutions.
AG
Stands for Anything Goes.This is a format where you may findPokemon that are way too powerfulto include them in the Standard Meta (as they would unbalance it)living alongside all the Pokemon of the Standard Meta.This format alsoallows moves and strategies that are banned from the Standard Metabecause they are unfair and uncompetitive. In short, this is a tier designed to have fun by annoying others.
LC
Stands for Little Cup.Here, you’ll find all the first-stage Pokemon that are usable in battle but doesn’t have much to do in the Standard Meta.Examples:All first stage starters, Axew, Gible, Makuhita, Zorua, Wooper, Sandile, Shinx.
NFE
Stands for Not Fully Evolved.Here, you’ll findPokemon that aren’t usable in Little Cupas they aren’t first stage Pokemon,but don’t have a full fit either in the Standard Metaor even in the lowest tiers like PU. It’s usually the lair of the second-stage Pokemon.Examples:Second-stage starters, Kirlia, Gastly, Pikachu, Sneasel, Staravia, Gabite.
Untiered
Here, you’ll findPokemon that you can find and use in Scarlet and Violet, but don’t even fit in PU.If you want to fit all the Pokemon of this category on a tier, it would beZU, which stands for ZeroUsed. While you can technically use them in PU, Untiered Pokemon aren’t viable in any way, and should be avoided if you’re seeking to play in the main competitive tiers.Examples:Oinkologne, Luxray, Slaking, Seviper, Wugtrio, Tropius.
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