Everything You Need to Know About Pokemon Showdown

By Mathhew Paul On Aug 2, 2022

Pokemon enthusiasts who have ventured into the more in-depth areas of the fandom have probably heard about Pokemon Showdown. In the beginning, Pokemon Showdown appears to be an online emulator for Pokemon video games. However, there is a growing community of ardent Pokemon fans, which makes Pokemon Showdown the perfect venue for any serious Pokemon fan.

Unfortunately, the complexity of Pokemon Showdown makes the idea first intimidating for newbies. To the contrary, any Pokemon enthusiast can enjoy the online simulator by grasping its essential components.

Pokemon Showdown: What Is It Exactly?

Nintendo does occasionally host licensed Pokemon tournaments for enthusiasts, although they are often few and far between. For fans of Competitive Pokemon to come together and hold their own Pokemon Battles online, Pokemon Showdown serves as a means of bridging this gap. Here are some things to anticipate considering its status as a hub for Pokemon players online:

A typical Pokemon fight. Players might wish to keep in mind that Pokemon Showdown aids in the convenience of standard Pokemon Battles. Players take turns bringing their own teams and battle until the final Pokemon on the other team faints.

Various Formats Pokemon Showdown uses a number of different formats, as is customary in tournament settings. These determine the kind of Pokemon that players can include in their teams and whether there are any more particular restrictions.

Increasing Reliance on Strategy Pokemon Showdown gamers may soon understand that this game relies more on strategy than traditional gaming battles do. Because a genuine player will swap right away, an AI may let a player’s Water Pokemon to destroy their Fire team.

Everyone’s Favorite Setups Pokemon Showdown allows all players the chance to assemble their own team, in contrast to previous encounters in the game where players will face pre-set AI configurations. In turn, defeating adversaries with carefully assembled teams is a significant portion of the task here.

What Formats Exist?

Pokemon Showdown follows particular forms depending on a player’s preferences, just like any other tournament or competitive setup. The Pokemon a player can have on their squad as well as any other restrictions can be changed by these formats.

Here are some of the most widely used formats, however the Pokemon Showdown website contains all known variations:

What About the Restrictions on Pokemon?

Not all Pokemon are immediately available for use in Pokemon Showdown. Given their genetic makeup, certain Pokemon are inherently more powerful than others. Pokemon Showdown groups Pokemon into tiers according to how frequently players use them in order to address the issue of strength scaling.

The majority of Pokemon in one tier has a 50% probability of running into the same Pokemon in a higher tier within the first 20 encounters. Although they show up there, they don’t have enough usage counts to warrant a tier raise.

Uber’s. Ubers do not acquire Pokemon through usage count, in contrast to other levels. Instead, either initial placement or banning is how Ubers get their Pokemon. Pokemon that are thought to be too powerful for OU are quarantined in Ubers. Similarly, some Pokemon, such as Legendaries in cover art, automatically receive a position in Uber.

OverUsed (OU) (OU). In terms of Pokemon usage, this is the highest tier. As a result, OU also determines which Pokemon are found in other levels. The majority of the game’s powerful Pokemon are typically demoted to OU.
UnderUsed (UU). Pokemon in UU are only a couple of usage counts behind those in OU.
RarelyUsed (RU). The Pokemon in RarelyUsed, like in UU, have fewer usage counts than UU.
never used (NU). never used Pokemon that don’t receive enough use to qualify as RU, just like RU does.
PU. Although it lacks an official label, this is also a tier beneath NU.
teeny cup The lowest evolution of their species, Level 5 Pokemon in this category are available. Little Cup, therefore, forbids the use of Pokemon without evolutions.
Doubles. Although two Pokemon are released simultaneously, the format for the Doubles variation in the Pokemon Showdown game is the same.
There are rules or clauses in Pokemon Showdown that further restrict a particular format. It’s possible that some of these clauses will or won’t apply to these restrictions:

Pokemon Moves are prohibited. In some Pokemon Showdown formats, certain Pokemon and Moves are expressly forbidden. Due to their potential to provide a certain side an unfair edge, particularly given their extraordinary strength, Pokemon and Moves frequently get outlawed inside a Format. This logic is similar to that used in other games.

Clause of perpetual battle. Pokemon with moves that could lead to an unending battle are generally prohibited in most Formats. A Pokemon is not permitted to own a Leppa Berry, carry Recycle, or use the Moves Fling or Pain Split.
OHKO (One-Hit KO). Sheer Cold, Horn Drill, Guillotine, and Fissure are not allowed to be included in a Pokemon’s moveset. This is so that these Moves can result in an OHKO.
gloomy Clause The ability of Moody is prohibited for Pokemon. This is as a result of Moody’s ability to raise one random stat per turn, including Evasion.
“Sleep Clause” With the exception of Moves like Rest, only one Pokemon per team may be put to Sleep at any given moment.
the “Species Clause” In some Formats, a team cannot contain two Pokemon of the same species.

What Role Does The Meta Play Here?

A more stable simulation of Wi-Fi Pokemon Battles is what Pokemon Showdown is intended to be, after all. Fans might still be perplexed, though, by how much of the mechanical aspects of Pokemon Battles are replicated in Pokemon Showdown.

In essence, Pokemon Showdown treats Pokemon Battles in a similar way to the original games. The customization features of Pokemon Showdown give players more control over their unique party, though. Consider the following specific factors: