The NSFCD Pokemon Board FAQ

[Diloon]

The NSFCD Pokemon Board Faq

Table of Contents

To get easy access to each of these questions, look at the code displayed at the end, and enter it in the Control + F search function

1. What are EVs and IVs? I hear everyone talking about them but I don't know what they are [Q001]
2. What are tiers and where can I find a list of them? [Q002]
3. What are natures and what do they do? [Q003]
4. I am having trouble making a competitive team instead of my in-game team. How do I make one? [Q004]
5. What is an RMT and what should it look like? [Q005]
6. I see the term 'RNG' in a lot of threads, what is it? [Q006]
7. What is Shoddy Battle? [Q007]
8. What are battle clauses, and where can I find a list of them? [Q008]
9. There are so many berries, what do all of them do? [Q009]

Q: What are EVs and IVs? I hear everyone talking about them but I don't know what they are.

[Q001]

A: EVs and IVs are both factors that affect a Pokemon's stat totals.

Effort Values, or commonly abbreviated as EVs (Effort Points, or EPs, are another name), are 'points' you can give to your pokemon to increase their stats. These 'points' are given by 2 methods. The first involves battling wild pokemon. Everytime you defeat a wild pokemon, the pokemon you used in the battle will gain the EV points of the wild pokemon. The EV points each wild pokemon gives will vary with each species. For example, fighting and defeating a wild Machop will give your pokemon 1 EV point in the Attack stat, while fighting a wild Abra gives you 1 EV point in the Special Attack stat. For every 4 EV points given to your pokemon, 1 actualy point is added to the stat of that pokemon. So, if you have a pokemon with a stat of 298 in the Speed stat, and you defeat 4 Starly's (Which give 1 EV point each in the speed stat) then you will gain 1 point in the speed stat, bringing your total stat to 299. This also works when you battle a trainer's pokemon, but this isn't very efficient as wild pokemon are much more abundant than trainer battles using the same pokemon you'd want to get EV points from.

Each pokemon can gain up to 510 EV points. However, the game only allows you to have 255 in each stat. If you noticed, 255 is not divisible by 4, so the commonly accepted 'maximum' is 252, because that is the largest amount of EV points that will actually translate over to the actual stat of the pokemon. Basically, a pokemon with 255 EV points will have the same amount of points added to their stat as a pokemon with 252 EVs, so it only makes sense to use 252. 252 is the maximum you will use in each stat, but there is no law saying you HAVE to maximize the stat. Some different spreads for some pokemon call for mixed EVs, or taking the 510 EVs alloted to a pokemon and spreading them out over more than 2 stats. Maximizing EVs in two stats (Using 252 in 2 stats with 4 in another) is very common for sweepers, or pokemon you use to attack quickly and with great force. Generally the EVs go into Speed and whichever attacking stat (Special Attack or Attack) the Pokemon will use. An example of a spread for a physical pokemon would look like 4 HP/252 Attack/252 Speed. A spread for a special sweeper generally looks like 4 HP/252 Special Attack/252 Speed. Those spreads aren't always true, but are for the most part. 'Walls', or pokemon that are defensive in nature, generally have their EVs spread out among HP, Defense, Special Defense, and sometimes Speed. It all depends on the pokemon. Also, mixed sweepers (Pokemon that use both Attack and Special Attack) spread out their EVs among several stats so they can maximize the diversity and power in their attacking. So, these 'points' can greatly affect a Pokemon's usage, and are essential for a Pokemon's usage competitively.

Different items can also affect EV growth in a pokemon, and combined with the right pokemon to battle, can increase EV training to breakneck speed. Pokerus, a pokemon 'disease' increases the EV output from a wild pokemon by 2. A pokemon with Pokerus will only have to battle half the pokemon it would if it didn't have the disease. Some items affect EV growth, such as the Power items (Ex: Anklet), and the Macho Brace. The Macho Brace multiplies EV growth by 2, while the Power Items add 4 to the already gained EV  growth. So if you fought a Starly, and you were holding the Power Anklet, you'd gain 5 EVs each. If you had Pokerus while you had a Power Item and fought a pokemon that gave you 1 EV point in a stat, you'd add first then multiply. 1 (EV total for Starly) + 4 (Power Item growth) X2 (Pokerus Growth) = 10! So you could gain 10 EV points a battle and cut down your training time by 10 times!

Also to speed up EV growth, you can use the vitamins you might have gotten during your journey through Sinnoh. The ones that sell for 9800, those each increase EVs in their respective stat. For example, Iron will give 10 EVs to the Defense stat, while Protein gives 10 points to the Attack stat. There is a limit to 10 vitamins per pokemon, so you can add 100 EVs to each pokemon in this manner. Also, EVs are given to any pokemon gaining experience. So if you are EV training a pokemon, and send it out, then switch to another pokemon and KO the opponent, both pokemon used in the battle get the same EV growth, unless one has the power items or other EV growth increasers. If you screw up while EV training, there are different types of berries that can aid you and essentially 'delete' EVs so you can re-train. Note, you cannot see the entire EV growth until level 100, but it is there. You can EV train a pokemon from level 1-99. At level 100 the pokemon will not gain a level so the EVs can not be added to the stat. It is advised to train as low as possible. Also, some pokemon give multiple EVs in each stat (Such as Staravia gives 2 EVs in speed as opposed to Starly's 1), and some pokemon give EVs in multiple stats

Items relating to EVs/ EV Training


Name: Power Anklet
Obtained: The Battle Park for 16 Battle Points
Effects: Decreases the speed stat while held, but promotes the Speed EV stat growth by 4; effect before Pokerus growth.


Name: Power Band
Obtained: The Battle Park for 16 Battle Points
Effects: Decreases the speed stat while held, but promotes the Special Defense EV stat growth by 4; effect before Pokerus growth.


Name: Power Weight
Obtained: The Battle Park for 16 Battle Points
Effects: Decreases the speed stat while held, but promotes the HP EV stat growth by 4; effect before Pokerus growth.


Name: Power Lens
Obtained: The Battle Park for 16 Battle Points
Effects: Decreases the speed stat while held, but promotes the Special Attack EV stat growth by 4; effect before Pokerus growth.


Name: Power Bracer
Obtained: The Battle Park for 16 Battle Points
Effects: Decreases the speed stat while held, but promotes the Attack EV stat growth by 4; effect before Pokerus growth.


Name: Power Belt
Obtained: The Battle Park for 16 Battle Points
Effects: Decreases the speed stat while held, but promotes the Defense EV stat growth by 4; effect before Pokerus growth.


Name: Macho Brace
Obtained: Pastoria City. You must show a resident there the 3 forms of Burmy. (Grass, Ground, and Steel)
Effects: decreases the speed stat while held, but promotes all EV growth by 2.


Name: Kelpsey Berry
Obtained: Various places throughout Sinnoh, trade from others
Effects: Decreases Attack EVs by 10


Name: Poemg Berry
Obtained: Various places throughout Sinnoh, trade from others
Effects: Decreases HP EVs by 10


Name: Qualot Berry
Obtained: Various places throughout Sinnoh, trade from others
Effects: Decreases Defense EVs by 10


Name: Hondew Berry
Obtained: Various places throughout Sinnoh, trade from others
Effects: Decreases Special Attack EVs by 10


Name: Grepa Berry
Obtained: Various places throughout Sinnoh, trade from others
Effects: Decreases Special Defense EVs by 10


Name: Tamato Berry
Obtained: Various places throughout Sinnoh, trade from others
Effects: Decreases Speed EVs by 10

Good Places to EV train

HP

Location: Route 201
Pokemon found wild: Bidoof, Starly
Pokemon giving HP EVs: Bidoof (1)
Access: Walk from Twinleaf or Sandgem, no HMs needed

Location: Route 212
Pokemon found wild: Wooper, Quagsire
Pokemon giving HP EVs: Quagsire (2), Wooper (1)
Access: Surfing is needed, but this spot is great because other than Tentacruel, they are the only ones on water

Attack

Location: Route 208
Pokemon found wild: Machop, Meditite, Bibarel, Bidoof
Pokemon giving Attack EVs: Machop (1), Bibarel (2)
Access: Walk from Hearthome, no HMs needed

Location: Acuity Lakefront
Pokemon found wild: Snover, Machoke, Sneasel, Meditite, Medicham
Pokemon giving Attack EVs: Snover (1), Machoke (2)
Access: walk from Snowpoint. Great spot because the other wild pokemon give speed EVs, making it a good place to train sweepers

Defense

Location: Ruin Maniac's Cave
Pokemon found wild: Geodude, Hippopotas
Pokemon gving Defense EVs: Hippopotas (1), Geodude (1)
Access: Walk from Veilstone, only Geodude and Hippopotas appear here. No HMs needed

Location: Iron Island's Mines
Pokemon found Wild: Graveler, Onix, Steelix, Zubat
Pokemon giving Defense EVs: Graveler (2), Onix (1), Steelix (2)
Access: Sail from Canalave, no HMs needed

Special Attack

Location: Old Chateau
Pokemon found Wild: Ghastly, Haunter, Gengar
Pokemon giving Special Attack EVs: Ghastly (1), Haunter (2), Gengar (3)
Access: Eterna Forest, need Cut. To encounter Gengar you need to be in the room with eyes in it and have any Pokemon GBA game insterted in the GBA slot

Special Defense

Location: Route 223
Pokemon found wild: Tentacool, Tentacruel, Wingull, Pelliper, Psyduck, Golduck
Pokemon giving Special Defense EVs: Tentacool (1), Tentacruel (2)
Access: Go right from Floaroma, need to be surfing.

Speed

Location: Trophy Garden of Pokemon Mansion
Pokemon found wild: Staravia, Pichu, Pikachu
Pokemon giving Speed EVs: Pichu (1), Pikachu (2), Staravia (2)
Access: Walk left from Pastoria and head into the mansion; then to the trophy garden


Now IVs, or Individual Values, are much different than EVs. EVs are gained after the capture or hatching of the pokemon, while IVs are given when you obtain the pokemon. IVs are basically a rating of the pokemon's stat. Each stat has an IV rating, measured from 0-31. 31 is the best possible rating for a stat, the highest the stat can be. 0 is the lowest. 31 and 0 are both equally as rare and hard to achieve as each other, while 15 and 16 are the most common. Ivs can be manipulated by breeding with high-IVed parents, and are completely random in the wild. For some pokemon, like Azelf or Heatran, you can only catch one of them in each game. People wat the best IVs possible, so they save and battle each legendary over and over again, until they get the IVs and nature they want.

How do you determine IVs? Well, you can use a calculator from Serebii or Metalkid (reccomended). The move 'Hidden Power' has a varying type based on IVs. Meaning that, depending on the IVs, the move's type could be Ice or Fire or Dragon or Grass. it all depends on what number IVs you get in what stat. Unlike EVs, no items affect IVs. Some people have figured out a way to abuse the Random Number Generator (RNG) inside the Pokemon games. This means, you can use timing and other factors to manipulate IVs. This is very tricky, and there are several other guides for it on the internet.

Useful Links for IVs

Serebii IV Calculator
Metalkid's IV Calculator
Samnitmar's Emerald RNG Guide
Smogon's Emerald RNG Thread
Smogon's Platinum RNG Thread

Q: What are tiers and where can I find a list of them?

[Q002]

A: Tiers are essentially, a hierarchy, or 'rating' of how powerful a pokemon is, and what level of play it is cleared to play on. The list starts with the most powerful, Ubers, and ends with the least powerful, Never Used (NU). Most people accept the tiers put out by Smogon University, and they are constantly testing out which pokemon should be in which tier on their Shoddy Battle server.

A list of the Ubers tier can be found here.
A list of the Overused (OU) tier can be found here.
A list of the Limbo tier can be found here. *
A list of the Underused (UU) tier can be found here.
The Never Used (NU) tier does not have a list currently. Anything not in UU, OU, BL, Limbo, or Ubers, is considered NU.
The Boderline (BL) tier does not have a list currently. It was emptied in preparation for testing some BL pokemon for either OU or UU.

*Limbo tier is not allowed in anything lower than the OU tier
Note: Pokemon are not limited to only their tier, except for the Ubers tier. OU pokemon may be used in the Ubers tier, but not the UU tier, UU can be used in the Ubers tier but Ubers may not be used in the UU tier, etc.

Current Smogon Testing

Six Different Suspects test
UU Discussion Thread
Shoddy Server Statistics, July

Q: What are natures and what do they do?

[Q003]

A: Natures are items that affect the stats of a pokemon. Natures can either positively affect one stat while negatively affecting another, or they do nothing and are neutral. Here is a list of the natures and how they affect stats. + means a 10% increase for the nature, and - means a 10% decrease for the nature.

Attack Boosters
-----------------
Adamant: +Attack, -Sp. Attack
Brave:   +Attack, -Speed
Lonely:  +Attack, -Defense
Naughty: +Attack, -Special Defense

Defense Boosters
-----------------
Bold:    +Defense, -Attack
Impish:  +Defense, -Sp. Attack
Lax:     +Defense, -Sp. Defense
Relaxed: +Defense, -Speed

Speed Boosters
----------------
Naive:    +Speed, -Sp. Defense
Hasty:    +Speed, -Defense
Jolly:    +Speed, -Sp. Attack
Timid:   +Speed, -Attack

Sp. Atk Boosters
-----------------
Modest:    +Sp. Attack, -Attack
Quiet:    +Sp. Attack, -Speed
Mild:    +Sp. Attack, -Defense
Rash:    +Sp. Attack, -Sp. Defense

Sp. Def Boosters
------------------
Careful: +Sp. Defense, -Sp. Attack
Calm:      +Sp. Defense, -Attack
Gentle:  +Sp. Defense, -Defense
Sassy:   +Sp. Defense, -Speed

Neutral Natures
----------------
Quirky
Hardy
Serious
Docile
Bashful

Credit to Drayano from Gamefaqs for the chart.

Q: I am having trouble making a competitive team instead of my in-game team. What are the differences and how do I make one?

[Q004]

A: This is one of the most common questions from people looking to step forward to newer things. First of all, In-game teams are generally teams that are consisted of pokemon you enjoy using, and have movesets that aren't always the best for competitive battle. In-Game teams generally aren't EV trained or IV bred (refer to earlier in the faq) while competitive teams are. Competitive teams are generally teams with one central strategy that involves six different pokemon that combine to synergize and go against other competitive teams hoping to employ this strategy to win the game. In short, competitive teams are teams trained to go against real life people with similarly trained pokemon.

Now comes the actual building of teams. People have such difficulties going from In-Game to competitive. Why is this? Well, people use pokemon they like rather than pokemon that will win. For example, someone may love the pokemon Quagsire, while the pokemon Swampert may not be as appealing to them for whatever reason but it fits better in their team than Quagsire. The first step to making a competitive team is realizing you may need to use pokemon you don't want to use.

Then you must decide what type of team you want to use. There are several types of teams that are popular in use. While these are not the only kinds, they are the most popular. They include...

• Offensive: An offensive team is probably the most common type of team. Most people start off with this type of team. It generally consists of mostly pokemon that attack fast, and hard. Sweepers, or pokemon whose focus is to take down as many of the opposing pokemon as possible, usually make up 2/3 or more of these types of teams.
  
  
• Stall: As you can tell, stall teams are basically meant to stall. They consist of pokemon who are focused to take hits, while inflicting status or setting up Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rocks, or both. Also common is 'PP Stall' or where you stall out pokemon so they can't use low PP moves such as Close Combat, Dynamic Punch, Fire Blast, Stone Edge, etc. Stall teams usually revolve around a lot of switching, and are usually ruined by Mixed Attackers, or pokemon using both Physical and Special attacks. Blissey, Hippodown, Skarmory, and Forretress are common on these types of teams.
  
  
• Balanced: Balanced teams usually have specific pokemon fulfilling specific roles to provide all around good coverage. They are usually walls, or pokemon used to take hits, sweepers, pokemon who deal hits, and then smaller more specialized roles. These were very common in the 3rd generation but have fallen out of favor in 4th gen.
  
  
• Hail: Hail teams revolve around the weather condition of hail to wear away opponents and strike hard. Abomosnow, and Wallrein are almost essential for these types of teams and are great for stalling out the other team. Blizzard is a great attack that can be utilized in this weather, as it has 100% accuracy. Common pokemon include Abomosnow, Wallrein, Mamoswine, Weavile, and Rotom.
  
  
• Sandstorm: Sandstorm teams are teams revolving around the use of sandstorm, set up by either Hippodown or Tyranitar, to wear away the opponent and hit very hard. In sandstorm, rock typed pokemon get a special defense boost. With this boost, attacks that are normally super effective (x2) will be reduced by 50% (x1.5). This is great for milking the sandstorm damage to other pokemon, and combined with Rock and Ground and Steel typed pokemon's offensive nature, makes for a great team to score massive hits.
  
  
• Rain Dance: A team centered around using the weather condition of Rain to increase speed of water typed pokemon and attack very hard. Commonly Bronzong or Electrode set up Rain Dance, explode, and then a Ludicolo, Kabutops, or Kingdra come in and attempt to sweep. Commonly used abilities include Swift Swim and Rain Dish, which increase speed and restore HP respectively. Omastar, and Qwilfish are also common.
  
  
• Baton Pass: A team centered around using stat increasers (Calm Mind, Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, Dragon Dance, etc.) and using the move Baton Pass to pass this to a high-powered, high speed pokemon so they can sweep. Commonly used sweepers are Lucario and Sweepers, while Ninjask, Vaporeon, and Umbreon are commonly used pokemon in the 'Baton Pass Chain'.
  

So, as you can see, there are many different types of teams and you can pick and choose however you wish. Once you have decided what type of team you want, you start selecting the members. Here is a process I've used for almost all of my teams

1. Find a 'crux', or pokemon that is the main point of the team. It ended up being Suicune due to his excellent typing and good defenses along with strong attacking stats.

2. Find a way to support this pokemon. I ended up going with a Rain Dance theme. Note: I decided to make the team type after I figured out my main pokemon in this case. You can do it in any order, this is just how it ended up this time.

3. Find pokemon who can execute the supporting strategy. I needed atleast two pokemon with Rain Dance so I went with Zapdos and Jirachi due to their typing and movepool coverage.

4. Find a pokemon who complements the 'crux'.Since Suicune is specially based I wanted a physically based complement. I decided either Kabutops or Kingdra but 'Dra won in the end to to superior typing and the fact that it can Dragon Dance.

5. Find a filler pokemon that can cover my weaknesses and anything else my team can't deal with. I went with Scizor because I lacked a big physical threat and priority. Plus Steel/Bug/Dark/Fighting was type coverage I really needed.

6. Find a pokemon to be my lead. I went with a pokemon that would give me great advantage in today's metagame; Togekiss. This really is an odd lead that shouldn't probably be used in your first teams. Metagross, Swampert, Aerodactyl, and Azelf are better choices for new-competitive battlers.

7. Figure out movesets/held items including said strategy. I just built my whole team around trying to get Rain Dance up and inflicting major annoyance and damage with Thunder before a Suicune sweep. I gave most of my pokemon leftovers, however Zapdos holds Damp Rock so Rain Dance lasts a few turns longer. I didn't give Jirachi Damp Rock because he does not have a recovery move, meaning he'll die fast without leftovers. Zapdos uses Roost so he doesn't need the leftovers recovery.

8. Put in the desired EVs. Most are pretty easy to do, just require you to know what your team needs, and how to go about spreading them around.

9.* Test on Shoddy. I found out my team wasn't cutting it so I decided Suicune, though it was my 'crux', wasn't needed because my supporters, Zapdos and Jirachi, worked beautifully together already.

10.** Find a replacement. I went with Snorlax because it gave me much needed Special Defense, and a great attacking stat to dish out pain to things bothering me.

*No, you do not have to do this, however you really don't want to waste your time breeding a bad team so I suggest at least testing it there.

**You won't always do #10, that's just how it went this time. Also note that this is not the single way you have to do it, but it works for me and it is how a lot of people do it. If you're struggling then try this, it may help.

Q: What is an RMT and what should it look like?

[Q005]

A: An RMT is a Rate My Team. It's basically a thread posting asking for your team to be rated. There can be in-game RMTs, or competitive RMTs. Please specify which it is in your title or somewhere in the thread. Pokemon are generally posted in this format..

Pokemon name@Item Held
Ability: -----
Nature: -----
EVs: -----
-Move 1
-Move 2
-Move 3
-Move 4

Description of what pokemon does and how you use it.

People usually forget to add in a description. Please, please add one in as it is very hard to give an accurate rate without it.

Below is an example RMT of my own.


Togekiss@Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Bold
EVs: 40 HP/252 Def/216 Sp. Attack
-Fire Blast
-Air Slash
-Roost
-Thunder Wave

This lead actually works very, very well. I am considering changing Fire Blast to Grass Knot and possibly going modest. Also my EV spread feels weird. But yeah, this guy is amazing in the end for me and can clean up quite nice.


Snorlax@Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 40 HP/216 Attack/252 Sp. Def
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Selfdestruct
-Return

Changed Suicune for this. He's worked out brilliantly, I really like him in here because he covers almost every other weakness I had. Except SD Luc :U Chases away ghosts with crunch, then is free to explode.


Zapdos@Damp Rock
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Timid
EVs: 156 Def/ 252 Speed/ 100 Sp. Attack
-Thunder
-HP Grass
-Roost
-Rain Dance

Yeah I love this. It seems when I win it's always with him. I want to keep him, no matter how the rest of the team works out. Rain Dance up, roost off any damage, then proceed to Thunder my way to victory!


Jirachi@Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 Sp. Attack/ 200 Sp. Def/56 Def
-Thunder
-Rain Dance
-Psychic
-Water Pulse

Wait. What? Water Pulse hh?

Why I chose Water Pulse
1. Serene Grace: This gives Water Pulse a 40% Confusion rate. Parafusion, anyone?
2. Rain Dance: The move gets a boosted 50% in the rain, meaning the base power is 90. SE damage on ground and rock types that give me trouble is 180. That's 5 BP less than a non-STAB ice beam or thunderbolt
3. Unique: No one expects it which means nice surprise chances for me :D

So yeah. I love it. He is amazing in the rain with a 60% paralysis rate, 40% confusion rate, 20% Sp.Def drop... beats Blissey 1 on 1. easy.


Kingdra@Leftovers
Ability: Swift Swim
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 Attack/252 Speed/4 HP
-Outrage
-Waterfall
-Substitute
-Dragon Dance

Very standard. Meshes with this team quite well and usually comes out late game for the inevitable sweep. Does get status'ed a lot however.


Scizor@Choice Band
Ability: Technician
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 252 HP/252 Attack/4 Speed
-U-Turn
-Bullet Punch
-Pursuit
-Superpower

Everyone should know this. You know what he does, comes out and hits things I just can't kill. Great late game, can save me a ton.

Pictures aren't necessary, just fun to look at. So this is just an example RMT, but the same structure should be used when making your own. obviously different pokemon though.

[Diloon]

Q: I see the term 'RNG' in a lot of threads, what is it?

[Q006]

A: RNG, or Random Number Generator is a way to manipulate time and other factors into giving you a desirable pokemon. You can make this pokemon have specific IVs, or be shiny, or even both. So how does it work? Well, it is pretty complex and takes a long time to learn properly and master.

First of all, you're going to need either D/P/Pt, or Emerald. Second you're going to need a clock not on your DS. Make sure it has seconds to this won't work. Also a calculator helps me a lot when I am counting frames.

Note: RNG makes use of a program called rngreporter, so you're going to need to download that. It is only available to download on Windows, sorry Mac users.

Alright, so if you want to use D/P/Pt then you can learn how to RNG at The D/P/Pt RNG Thread. The Emerald RNG thread can be found here. Both threads will teach you all about RNG, and all you need to learn it.

Still having trouble? The Pokemon Board XAT Chat has people that can guide you through step by step.

RNG does not make use of any AR or other hacking device, other than to find your SID (Secret ID) This is not your normal ID you see on pokemon you catch, but an ID only findable by people with AR. Many people check SIDs for free, and many people in the XAT chat can do that for you.

Useful links for RNG Abuse:
RNGreporter Download
Video demonstration of hatching a shiny pokemon using method 1
Wichu's RNG program

It is very difficult to learn RNG and I am sure there still questions you probably have, just remember to ask. There's no shame in it.

Q: What is Shoddy Battle?

[Q007]

A: Shoddy Battle is an online battle simulator that has become the primary source of pokemon battles versus others, even eclipsing traditional Wi-Fi in usage. It is very easy to use. You download, open it, and can edit your team to whatever you wish in minutes. The Smogon server (The most used server, now the official server) has different ladders you can create teams for. They have a Suspect, OU, Uber, and UU ladder. Waiting time for a battle is usually only a few seconds. In addition, there are several built in clauses for ladder matches such as: Timed Battle, Freeze Clause, Sleep Clause, Evasion Clause, Species Clause, and Soul Dew Clause. Your rating is tracked for each match and you can access it by right clicking your name and hitting 'rating'.

Some people dislike shoddy battle because it isn't the traditional wi-fi. However, Shoddy is still an excellent testing tool so you don't waste your time breeding a bad team.

There is also Net Battle Supremacy, which is another simulator. It has a more user friendly interface, and supports Double Battles, but is not as widely used.

Useful links:
Shoddy Battle Main Website
Net Battle Supremacy Website

Q: What are battle clauses, and where can I find a list of them?

[Q008]

Clauses are different rules people play with in order to make battling more fun and more fair. Common clauses are listed below.

OHKO Clause: Moves like Horn Drill and Sheer Cold which are instant OHKOs are banned.

Item Clause: Each item may be used on your team only once.

Freeze Clause: Multiple pokemon on the same team may not be frozen at the same time. (This is impossible to regulate on Wi-Fi, so some people just let the second pokemon to become un-frozen before preceding with the match)

Sleep Clause: Multiple pokemon on the same team may not be asleep at the same time.  (This is impossible to regulate on Wi-Fi, so some people just let the second pokemon to wake up before preceding with the match)

Species Clause: Only one of the same pokemon may be used on the same team.

Timed Battle: Similar to a chess match, battles are timed to prevent cheating by stalling for long periods of time. Available on Shoddy/NBS and not Wi-Fi

Soul Dew Clause: The item 'Soul Dew' is banned from play

Extended Game Clause: The use of the pokemon Arceus, and other berries not obtainable yet is allowed, though they are unobtainable at the moment without the use of AR. Available on Shoddy/NBS and not Wi-Fi

Level Balance: Uses a specific formula to balance out all Pokemon stats. generally not used by anyone, but can be fun. Available on Shoddy/NBS and not Wi-Fi

Little Cup Clause: All pokemon are at level 5. Available on Shoddy/NBS and not Wi-Fi

Random Battle: All pokemon are random and are using preset movesets. Available on Shoddy/NBS and not Wi-Fi

Edgar Clause: A joke clause, made after a guy in the Shoddy battle chat asked for a match with ridiculous rules that would always result in him winning. A picture is below.

Q: There are so many berries, what do all of them do?

[Q009]

A: All of them are listed in the Spoiler Box below. Just scroll to whichever one you need.

[spoiler]

Berry Number: #1
Berry Name: Cheri Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to recover from paralysis.
Growth time: 3-12 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #2
Berry Name: Chesto Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to recover from sleep.
Growth time: 3-12 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #3
Berry Name: Pecha Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to recover from poison.
Growth time: 3-12 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #4
Berry Name: Rawst Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to recover from a burn.
Growth time: 3-12 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #5
Berry Name: Aspear Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to defrost it.
Growth time: 3-12 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #6
Berry Name: Leppa Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to restore a move's PP by 10.
Growth time: 4-16 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #7
Berry Name: Oran Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to heal the user by just 10 HP.
Growth time: 4-16 Hours
Max. Harvest:5


Berry Number: #8
Berry Name: Persim Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to recover from confusion.
Growth time: 4-16 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #9
Berry Name: Lum Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to recover from any status problem.
Growth time: 12-48 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #10
Berry Name: Sitrus Berry
Berry Effects:A Poffin ingredient. It may be used or held by a Pok?mon to heal the user's HP a little.
Growth time: 8-32 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #11
Berry Name: Figy Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it restores the user's HP in a
pinch, but may also cause confusion.
Growth time: 5-20 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #12
Berry Name: Wiki Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it restores the user's HP in a
pinch, but may also cause confusion.
Growth time: 5-20 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #13
Berry Name: Mago Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it restores the user's HP in a
pinch, but may also cause confusion.
Growth time: 5-20 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #14
Berry Name: Aguav Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it restores the user's HP in a
pinch, but may also cause confusion.
Growth time: 5-20 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #15
Berry Name: Iapapa Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it restores the user's HP in a
pinch, but may also cause confusion.
Growth time: 5-20 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #16
Berry Name: Razz Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Razz Plant.
Growth time: 2-8 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #17
Berry Name: Bluk Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Bluk Plant.
Growth time: 2-8 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #18
Berry Name: Nanab Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Nanab Plant.
Growth time: 2-8 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #19
Berry Name: Wepear Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Wepear Plant.
Growth time: 2-8 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #20
Berry Name: Pinap Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Pinap Plant.
Growth time: 2-8 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #21
Berry Name: Pomeg Berry
Berry Effects:A Poffin ingredient. Using it on a Pok?mon makes it more friendly, but it
also lowers its base HP.
Growth time:
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #22
Berry Name: Kelpsy Berry
Berry Effects:A Poffin ingredient. Using it on a Pok?mon makes it more friendly, but it
also lowers its base Attack.
Growth time: 8-32 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #23
Berry Name: Qualot Berry
Berry Effects:A Poffin ingredient. Using it on a Pok?mon makes it more friendly, but it
also lowers its base Defense.
Growth time: 8-32 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #24
Berry Name: Hondew Berry
Berry Effects:A Poffin ingredient. Using it on a Pok?mon makes it more friendly, but it
also lowers its base Special Attack.
Growth time: 8-32 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #25
Berry Name: Grepa Berry
Berry Effects:A Poffin ingredient. Using it on a Pok?mon makes it more friendly, but it
also lowers its base Special Defense.
Growth time: 8-32 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #26
Berry Name: Tamato Berry
Berry Effects:A Poffin ingredient. Using it on a Pok?mon makes it more friendly, but it also lowers
its base Speed.
Growth time: 8-32 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #27
Berry Name: Cornn Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Cornn Plant.
Growth time: 6-10 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #28
Berry Name: Magost Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Magost Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #29
Berry Name: Rabuta Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Rabuta Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #30
Berry Name: Nomel Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Nomel Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #31
Berry Name: Spelon Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Spelon Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #32
Berry Name: Pamtre Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Pamtrel Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #33
Berry Name: Watmel Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Watmel Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #34
Berry Name: Durin Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Durin Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #35
Berry Name: Belue Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. Bury it in soft soil to grow a Belue Plant.
Growth time: 6-24 Hours
Max. Harvest: 10


Berry Number: #36
Berry Name: Occa Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Fire-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest:  5


Berry Number: #37
Berry Name: Passho Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Water-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #38
Berry Name: Wacan Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Electric-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #39
Berry Name: Rindo Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Grass-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #40
Berry Name: Yache Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Ice-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #41
Berry Name: Chople Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Fighting-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #42
Berry Name: Kebia Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Poison-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #43
Berry Name: Shuca Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Ground-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #44
Berry Name: Coba Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Flying-type attack.
Growth time:  18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #45
Berry Name: Payapa Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Psychic-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #46
Berry Name: Tanga Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Bug-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #47
Berry Name: Charti Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Rock-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #48
Berry Name: Kasib berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Ghost-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #49
Berry Name: Haban Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Dragon-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #50
Berry Name: Colbur Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Dark-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #51
Berry Name: Babiri Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's
supereffective Steel-type attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #52
Berry Name: Chilan Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it weakens a foe's Normal-type
attack.
Growth time: 18-72 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #53
Berry Name: Liechi Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises its Attack stat in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #54
Berry Name: Ganlon Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises its Defense stat in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #55
Berry Name: Salac Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises its Speed stat in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #56
Berry Name: Petaya Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises its Special Attack in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #57
Berry Name: Apicot Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises its Special Deense stat in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #58
Berry Name: Lansat Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises its critical-hit ratio in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #59
Berry Name: Starf Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises one of its stats in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #60
Berry Name: Enigma Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it restores its HP if it is hit by a foe's
supereffective attack.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #61
Berry Name: Micle Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it raises the accuracy of a move
just once in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #62
Berry Name: Custap Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, it gets to move first just once in a pinch.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #63
Berry Name: Jaboca Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, and if a foe's physical attack lands, the
foe also takes damage.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
Max. Harvest: 5


Berry Number: #64
Berry Name: Rowap Berry
Berry Effects: A Poffin ingredient. If held by a Pok?mon, and if a foe's special attack lands,
the foe also takes damage.
Growth time: 24-96 Hours
[/spoiler]

[Diloon]

edit DOS

like a zapdos

[RX-78-2]

Are tiers used in Wi-Fi battles? Or is that just for Shoddy and the like? Sorry if I shouldn't have posted here :-\.

[Wedge]

Good copypasta loon.

[Diloon]

You know it Wedge :3

Also, yes the tiers are used for both Wi-Fi and Shoddy. On Wi-Fi people can make their own agreements so the tiers can't really be enforced but people usually abide by them.

[RX-78-2]

You know it Wedge :3

Also, yes the tiers are used for both Wi-Fi and Shoddy. On Wi-Fi people can make their own agreements so the tiers can't really be enforced but people usually abide by them.

So it's kind of an "unwritten law"? Can the battlers speak directly to each other before the match so that they can plan their teams and the rules? Sorry I don't Wi-Fi battle... yet.

[Wedge]

If you do a competitive battle, you usually abide by the tier list. When you're just getting started, you're going to be playing the Standard Tier Metagame. This includes Pokemon such as Heatran, Salamence, Aerodactyl, Starmie, Jolteon, etc. The only banned Pokemon are Pokemon in the Uber Tier. For a complete list of tiers, go here:


Smogon.com/dp/tiers/uber  For Uber (banned in Standard play)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/ou     For Standard Pokemon (usable in Standard and Uber Play)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/bl      For Borderline Pokemon (Pokemon not used very often, but banned from UU)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/uu For Underused Pokemon (usable in UU and NU Play)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/nu For NeverUsed Pokemon (usable in NU Play)

Also, certain moves such as Double Team and Sand Attack (evasion/accuracy modifiers) as well as OHKO moves such as Sheer Cold are banned.

While not yet an 'official' clause, 'hax items' such as Kings Rock and Scope Lens are usually banned or looked down upon.

[RX-78-2]

If you do a competitive battle, you usually abide by the tier list. When you're just getting started, you're going to be playing the Standard Tier Metagame. This includes Pokemon such as Heatran, Salamence, Aerodactyl, Starmie, Jolteon, etc. The only banned Pokemon are Pokemon in the Uber Tier. For a complete list of tiers, go here:


Smogon.com/dp/tiers/uber  For Uber (banned in Standard play)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/ou     For Standard Pokemon (usable in Standard and Uber Play)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/bl      For Borderline Pokemon (Pokemon not used very often, but banned from UU)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/uu For Underused Pokemon (usable in UU and NU Play)
Smogon.com/dp/tiers/nu For NeverUsed Pokemon (usable in NU Play)

Also, certain moves such as Double Team and Sand Attack (evasion/accuracy modifiers) as well as OHKO moves such as Sheer Cold are banned.

While not yet an 'official' clause, 'hax items' such as Kings Rock and Scope Lens are usually banned or looked down upon.

Thanks. But how are King's Rock and Scope Lens considered "hacks" (that is what you mean right?)? Why are they discouraged?

_{But crud, I was gonna' use Double Team.}

[Wedge]

'Hax' is competitive slang for 'relies on luck'. A hax item is one that shifts the game in your favor due to luck or chance, and does not reflect a player's skill (most of the time; there are exceptions to this). In order to minimize the amount of chance in a game, these items are banned.