Appendix:Metagame terminology

This article does not yet meet the quality standards of Bulbapedia. Please feel free to edit this article to make it conform to Bulbapedia norms and conventions.

This article is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it.

The Pokémon metagame has various fanmade terminology for battle strategies and techniques.

Broad terms

General terms that can apply to a number of different Pokémon.

Annoyer

A Pokémon designed with the sole purpose of annoying the opponent and making it difficult for him/her to use a move. These Pokémon are also known as Paraflinchers. Moves for this purpose include Confuse Ray, Thunder Wave, Protect and Attract. It should be noted that the use of Annoyers has fallen since the start of Generation III, mostly due to the fact that they rely too much on luck.

Two relatively common Annoyers in Generation IV are Jirachi (with Serene Grace, Iron Head, Zen Headbutt and Thunder Wave) and Togekiss (with Serene Grace, Air Slash and Thunder Wave).

There are also parafusers, with the most popular of them being Rotom. They also rely on Thunder Wave, but instead of having Serene Grace they inflict confusion.

Anti-Leads

Anti-Leads are Pokémon that are used to counter common Leads. These Pokémon may be carrying a Choice Scarf to outspeed the opposing expected lead and then carry a super-effective attack. An example of a Pokémon like this is Weavile; it is fast, it can taunt to prevent hazards and it can also use a combination of Focus Sash and Counter to KO opposing leads. Gengar is another example of this, holding a Focus Sash with Counter, Destiny Bond, Hypnosis and other moves to disable Pokémon. Forretress can also be considered an anti-lead, as it commonly carries Gyro Ball which is super-effective on leads such as Weavile and Aerodactyl. It can also deal with hazards set up by Aerodactyl with Rapid Spin and can also break Focus Sashes with this move.

Aromatherapist

See Cleric.

Baton Passer

A Pokémon with Baton Pass and at least one stat-boosting move such as Swords Dance or Agility, or Psych Up, Mean Look or Substitute. Raises one or more stats and/or activates one or more of the above moves, then Baton Passes the effects to another Pokémon in the party. Stat boosts are countered by a Hazer or Pseudo-Hazer. A good example of a Baton Passer is Ninjask, who gains one level of Speed after each turn. A Baton Passer often abuses the move Protect and may use Swords Dance and/or Substitute as well. Ninjask commonly carries Substitute and a Liechi Berry so that it can Baton Pass four Speed Boosts, a Leichu boost, and possibly a few Swords Dance boosts or a Substitute. Baton Passers can counter Pseudo-Hazers by passing Ingrain, however only Smeargle can learn both of these moves through Sketch. Pseudo-Hazers that utilize Roar or Whirlwind can be evaded by Baton Passing to a Pokémon with Soundproof, however they also cannot receive maneuvers such as Heal Bell and Perish Song.

Baton Pass Chain

Continuous use of the move Baton Pass on various Pokémon in order to accumulate stat boosts, often used to boost and pass a variety of different stats that one Pokémon couldn't pass itself. A good example of a Pokémon that can set this up is Ninjask because of Speed Boost, Protect and Swords Dance.

Bulky Water

A Template:Type2 Pokémon that has high HP, Defense, or Special Defense stats. Popular Bulky Waters include Vaporeon, Swampert, and Jellicent.

Choice User

This subsection refers to Pokémon that have a hold item that affects in-battle move power or speed with the cost of being able to only use one move until a switch-out or in the event that Pokémon faints.

Choice Bander

A Pokémon with a moveset that usually contains four powerful physical moves and wears the hold item Choice Band. A Choice Bander usually serves either as a lead or a finisher, due to the sheer power it can dish out. Popular Choice Banders include Heracross and Salamence.

Scarf Wearer

A Pokémon with a moveset that usually contains four powerful moves and wears the hold item Choice Scarf. A Scarf Wearer is usually a very powerful Pokémon with subpar speed compared to faster counter Pokémon that might outfight it, or is used on Revenge Killers. Popular Scarf Wearers include Heracross and Weavile.

Specs Wearer

A Pokémon with a moveset that usually contains four powerful special moves and wears the hold item Choice Specs. Like a Choice Bander, a Specs Wearer will often lead off with powerful attacks or act as a finisher. Popular Specs Wearers include Alakazam and Porygon-Z.

Clause

Akin to House Rules, Clauses are various rules that fans apply to their battles. Since most player battles are free-for-alls, players usually agree on restrictions for moves, items and tiers. There also exist several official clauses that are usually applied to Stadium/Colosseum battles in the console connectivity games and Battle Tower challenges. Pokémon Battle Revolution is currently the only official way for players to battle with these clauses enforced by the game.

Cleric

A Pokémon that utilizes Aromatherapy or Heal Bell to cure itself and its team members. Clerics are often partnered with Rest users or Pokémon with few means to heal themselves. However, Aromatherapy only appears in the movesets of a number of Template:Type2 Pokémon and the Blissey and Clefable families, and Heal Bell does not affect Pokémon with the ability Soundproof. Popular Clerics include Blissey, Clefable and Celebi.

Counter

A Pokémon that is able to successfully switch into the opposing Pokémon and is subsequently able to defeat it after switching in. For example, Gliscor is a Counter to Heracross, since it resists Heracross's strongest attacks (Megahorn and Close Combat) and can defeat it easily with a Template:Type2 attack, such as Aerial Ace.

Death Fodder

See Decoy.

Decoy

Any Pokémon that is 'sacrificed' against a strong opponent. The aim is to weaken the opponent's Pokémon before the sacrificial Pokémon is knocked out, then switch to a stronger Pokémon, preferably one whose moveset has an advantage over the opponent, usually a Revenge Killer. A Decoy is often used to switch to a different Pokémon without causing damage to the Pokémon one wants to battle by sacrificing the Decoy.

DDer

Any Pokémon that makes use of Dragon Dance. Usually, a DDer is a fast physical Sweeper such as Gyarados, Kingdra or Salamence.

Dual Screens

The combination of Light Screen and Reflect, improving the team's defenses. Brick Break can be used to break dual screens.

Endureversal

A moveset designed to Endure down to one HP, then Reversal or Flail for massive damage, since Reversal and Flail have 200 base power at 1%-4% HP. The item held is often a Salac Berry or a Liechi Berry, tying in with the previous strategy. Popular Endureversal include Feraligatr, Heracross and Kabutops. This strategy is similar to the F.E.A.R strategy.

Evasion clause

The use of evasion boosting moves like Double Team or Minimize is forbidden under the Evasion Clause. Similar moves which instead decrease the opposing Pokémon's accuracy, such as Sand-Attack, Mud-Slap, Mirror Shot and Mud Bomb, are more widely accepted. Acupressure and Moody can increase the user's evasion, but still do not fall under this clause.

Flailer

See Endureversal.

Freeze clause

Two Pokémon on the same team cannot be frozen at the same time. Since freezing happens randomly, it is only available on games like Pokémon Stadium and battle simulators like Pokémon Online.

Glass Cannon

A Pokémon that has extremely high offensive stats, which are contrasted with its poor defensive stats and often insufficient Speed (such as Sharpedo and Rampardos). A Choice Scarf is often employed on such Pokémon to make up for their lack of sufficient Speed, but other Choice items may also be used.

Hax

Something that relies more on chance than reliability or strategy. Hax can be manipulated in many different ways, including the use of items such as Quick Claw, Focus Band, BrightPowder, the use of the ability Serene Grace and the use of moves such as Fissure or Sheer Cold. Critical hits and extra effects of attacks, such as Flamethrower burning the foe, are often considered Hax. One variation of Hax is a Parahax.

Hazer

A Pokémon that has a moveset with Haze in it. Much like a Spiker, it can have any combination of moves along with Haze. Fast Pokémon and those with high defenses, such as Altaria and Articuno, make good Hazers.

HM Slave

Main article: HM Slave

An HM Slave is a Pokémon mostly untrained for battle which is used for basic case of learning HMs and being the one to use them out of battle when needed. It is mostly kept in a PC box and not part of a general team and is used as an extra Pokémon that learns HMs, so a Trainer doesn't have to teach HMs to his or her main battlers. It is generally only brought out of a PC box when the use of HMs are needed. Due to Bibarel being capable of learning six^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.} or seven^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}, it is often (if not always) classified as the authentically perfect HM slave. Tropius is also regarded as a good HM slave as it can learn five HMs, including Fly.

HP

Usually used as an abbreviation for "Hit Points", but often refers to the move Hidden Power. For example, "HP Water" refers to a Hidden Power that is of the Template:Type2.

Item Clause

A rule whereby the use of more than one of the same held item is forbidden. While not enforced by most competitive players, it is enforced in Official Pokémon Competition, and also in-game facilities such as the Battle Frontier or Pokémon Battle Revolution's Colosseums.

IV Battle

A scaled battle where the purpose is not actually to battle, but to observe what the Pokémon's stats will look like at a different level in order to calculate what the Pokémon's IVs are. This is typically done with freshly hatched Pokémon, as EVs don't have to be included in such calculations.

Lead

The starting Pokémon of a team. In general, these Pokémon do at least one of two things: set up hazards or prevent the opponent from setting up hazards. Examples of Pokémon that do both are Aerodactyl (with Taunt and Stealth Rock), Forretress (with Rapid Spin, Spikes, Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes) and Tentacruel (with Rapid Spin and Toxic Spikes). An example of Pokémon that only set up hazards is Heatran (with Stealth Rock). An example of a lead that only prevents hazards is Weavile (with Taunt).

Legit

A shortened form of legitimate, refers to Pokémon that haven't been cheated or hacked in any way. This includes acquiring or modifying Pokémon via a GameShark, Action Replay, Pokésav, etc. It is commonly used among players who are trading rare Event Pokémon.

Level Clause

All Pokémon used by both Trainers should be close to the same level, which is usually 50 or 100. With the advent of Diamond and Pearl, Wi-Fi battles are capable of setting Pokémon levels to 50 or 100 (rounding them up or down as necessary), so a Level Clause really only applies to local battles.

LumRest

The use of the Lum Berry in combination with Harvest to use Rest and other moves, such as Petal Dance, without suffering the negative effect.

Masuda method

Main article: Masuda method

A technique used to hatch Shiny eggs involving Pokémon originating from games of different languages. For example, if the player has a North American game card, and receives a Japanese Ampharos and breeds it with a Pikachu from their own card, the offspring has a much higher chance of being shiny.

Mono-Team

A Pokémon team that is entirely of one certain type, or even one species. These are more common in Random Pokémon Battle Revolution matches than in serious matches. This is often countered since they can bring in something that has an unadulterated type advantage. For example, one may have a team consisting only of Template:Type2 Pokémon, while the opponent may have a Honchkrow with above-average Attack and Speed stats that knows moves such as Dark Pulse or Night Slash, used to easily and quickly defeat the all-Ghost team.

Mono-color

A way to play using Pokémon of only one color. If a player wanted an all-green team, he or she might choose Gallade, Tyranitar, Cradily, a Shiny Salamence, Politoed and Breloom.

One-hit knockout move (OHKO moves)

Main article: One-hit knockout move

These are moves that cause immediate fainting when they hit; but their accuracy is accordingly low (30%). Namely:

In Standard rules, OHKO moves are forbidden, so these are rarely seen.

Pinch Berry

Any one of the following: Liechi, Ganlon, Salac, Petaya, Apicot, Lansat, and Starf. These berries raise a specific stat when the holder's HP falls below 1/3 (or in a pinch, hence the name). Petaya, Salac and Liechi are the most commonly used, as extra defense typically isn't very useful when health is that low. Though usually found on Enduring, Substituting or Belly Drumming Pokémon, Drifblim does well with Petaya Berry in combination with the Unburden ability. The Micle and Custap berries may also fall into this category.

Pokes

Short form for Pokémon. Used in many forums.

Pseudo Passer

A moveset with Wish, Safeguard, Light Screen and/or Reflect in it. Reflect and Light Screen are countered by Brick Break.

Pseudo Hazer (PHazer)

A moveset with either Whirlwind or Roar, which is intended to force a stat-boosted Pokémon out of the ring. A Shuffler can also be a PHazer. A moveset with a move like Yawn, Leech Seed, Perish Song or Charm can also be considered a PHazer. If the opponent decides not to switch out after being hit with one of these moves, he/she will have a hard time continuing the battle with their current Pokémon.

Priority Move

Main article: Priority

A move that allows the user to attack first despite having a lower Speed stat. There are different priority brackets.

Rapid Spinner

Also called Spinner. A user of the move Rapid Spin, which is used to remove entry hazards. Common Rapid Spinners are Starmie and Tentacruel.

Revenge Killer

A Pokémon that can switch in after an opponent has knocked out another Pokémon and knock out that opponent. Revenge Killers are often equipped with Priority Moves or a Choice Scarf. For example, Weavile makes an effective revenge killer due to its high Attack stat and access to Ice Shard. Sometimes employed after 'sacrificing' a Decoy.

Sashed

A Pokémon that is holding a Focus Sash, usually a very frail one such as Dugtrio or Weavile, so it can survive a hit.

Shuffler (Parashuffler/Pyroshuffler/Toxishuffler)

A moveset with either Roar or Whirlwind and Toxic as well as Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp. Works by inflicting a status condition, then PHazing and repeating. Often used in tandem with a Spiker for best results. Countered by a Cleric, or simply by attacking each time they try to PHaze.

Sleep Clause

A rule whereby the use of a sleep inducing move is forbidden if a Pokémon on the opponent's team has already been put to sleep by one of the user's Pokémon. Sleep that is induced by moves such as by Rest or abilities like Effect Spore are exempted. Pokémon Battle Revolution supports the Sleep Clause, and custom rule sets can choose to enforce it or not.

Sleep Talker (Restalker/STalker)

A moveset with Rest and Sleep Talk. It is used to maintain a Pokémon's (usually with good defenses) health with Rest, but allow it to attack in the meantime with Sleep Talk. It's not a perfect strategy, as there is the chance Sleep Talk will call Rest again, but it works often enough to see use. Milotic is an excellent example of a Sleep Talker due to Marvel Scale. Though Milotic also has Recover, the Sleep Talker set is sometimes used because of its ability, though generally, moves such as Recover are better.

Spam

Using the same move repeatedly.

Species clause

A rule whereby the use of more than one of the same Pokémon is forbidden. Pokémon that evolve from the same Pokémon but are not an evolution of each other are exempted. For example, the use of Gorebyss and Huntail is allowed, but the use of Gorebyss and Gorebyss or Clamperl and Clamperl in one team is not. If the Pokémon has many different formes that are very different from each other, such as Wormadam or Rotom, they are still limited by species clause as they share the same Pokédex number (and are thus still of the same Pokémon species). An official clause, the various Battle Towers and Console connectivity games enforce this.

Spiker

A moveset that includes the move Spikes. Since that is the only requirement, there are many variations to Spiker movesets. Effective ones utilize Roar or Whirlwind, Toxic Spikes, Stealth Rock, and/or Rapid Spin.

Spinblocker

A Ghost-type Pokémon that is used in order to stop the foe from using Rapid Spin (which doesn't affect Ghost-type Pokémon) to remove entry hazards from its side of the field. Notable Spinblockers are Froslass and Giratina.

Sponge

See Wall.

STAB

Main article: Same-type attack bonus

Refers to the 1.5x multiplier a Pokémon gets when using an attack that matches its own type. If a Pokémon is a dual-type Pokémon, it gets a 1.5x multiplier for attacks of both of its types (for example, a Garchomp gets STAB for Template:Type2 as well as Template:Type2 attacks). The ability Adaptability increases STAB's multiplier to 2x.

Staller

Much like the Tank, this moveset lives to build up passive damage (such as Poison, Burn, Leech Seed, and weather conditions) while stalling with Protect, recovery moves or (rarely) with Fly, Dive or Dig. Toxic is most commonly used due to its increasing amount of damage caused. Some counters include a Cleric, the move Taunt and Clefable (due to the ability Magic Guard).

Standard rules

It refers to the rules used in Wi-Fi battles by most competitive battlers. The rules include: No Ubers, no hacks, no OHKO moves, Sleep Clause, Evasion Clause and Species Clause.

Sweeper

A moveset designed with the object of quickly knocking out, or "sweeping," an opponent's team. Sweepers specialize in primarily direct attacks, often with stat-boosting moves. Sweepers are characterized by high Speed and offensive stats, while often having poor defensive stats and HP. There are three types of sweeper—Physical, Special and Mixed: Physical sweepers use physical moves, Special sweepers use special moves, and Mixed sweepers use both. Mixed sweepers can also be used as wall breakers, which are mixed Sweepers whose attacks are specifically chosen to take down common walls, like Close Combat for Blissey or Fire Blast for Skarmory. Common counters are bulky Pokémon and priority moves.

Tank

A Pokémon that can take hits and still fight back. Often functions as a Wall but different because while being hard to KO, it can still threaten the opponent offensively. Some common Tanks are Bronzong and Suicune.

Trapper

A set designed with the purpose of trapping a Pokémon for one reason or another. Moves such as Mean Look and Spider Web are standard trapping moves but moves such as Wrap and Fire Spin are also used sometimes. May be used in tandem with Toxic or Curse (Ghost version) to sap the opponent's health or Perish Song for a guaranteed knockout. Certain abilities, such as Shadow Tag, Magnet Pull and Arena Trap, trap automatically.

Trickbander

A moveset that employs Trick and the held item Choice Band to incapacitate any opponent that doesn't use Physical attacks (most likely a Tank, Annoyer or Special Sweeper). Trick switches items with the opponent, so that they lose their valuable held item and get a restrictive one. In Generation IV, with the introduction of Choice Specs and Choice Scarf, the more common item to switch onto the opponent is Choice Scarf because the receiver gains no offensive boost and the user makes use of the speed boost to Trick before the opponent makes their move.

Trickbracer

Similar to the Trickbander, a Trickbracer gives the opponent the Macho Brace instead - an item that reduces Speed. It will stop most Sweepers in their tracks due to the reduction of their Speed that is so crucial. In Generation IV, the Iron Ball and Lagging Tail hold items exist almost solely to be used in this way, while the Klutz ability seems to exist so that the Pokémon using Trick doesn't have to suffer the effects of the item they are Tricking to the opponent.

Type coverage

Type coverage refers to combinations of attacks that are unresisted. Common combinations for coverage are "BoltBeam" (only resisted by a few Pokémon) which is Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, or any combination of Template:Type2 and Template:Type2 attacks. Template:Type2, Template:Type2, Template:Type2 and Template:Type2 attacks have perfect coverage, due to the fact that Ghost- and Dragon-type moves together are all resisted by only Dark- and Steel-types (Dark-types resisting Ghost and Steel-types resisting both). Both of these types are defensively weak to Fighting-type moves, meaning at best, a dual-typed Steel or Dark Pokémon will be neutral to Fighting (at worst, 4x weak). Thus, all currently known Pokémon are at least neutral to these combinations.

Untouched

Often abbreviated as UT, it refers to Pokémon that haven't gained any Experience since they were captured, received, or hatched. It is commonly used among players who are trading specially bred or Event Pokémon.

Wall

A Pokémon with a very high defensive stat. Used to block attacks of that kind (for example, a Physical Wall would block Physical attacks).

Specific sets

Sets that are only seen on one to several Pokémon or are best known on a single Pokémon.

Atmacune

A Suicune moveset from Generation II, which has Curse, Rest, Return and Roar. Not usable in Generation III or IV because Curse is no longer available in Suicune's movelist due to losing TM status.

Bellyzard

A moveset created specifically for the Charizard evolution family. The moveset contains Belly Drum, Substitute, Fire Punch or Flare Blitz and any other move. The held item is usually a Salac Berry. Belly Drum followed by Substitute maximizes the attack stat and lowers HP enough to activate Blaze and the Salac Berry as long as Charizard's HP is divisible by 4. The power of Charizard's Template:Type2 moves is increased, attack power is maximized and Speed is raised enough to possibly attack first. This results in an incredibly powerful physical Template:Type2 attack.

BoltBeam

A combination of Thunderbolt and Ice Beam on the same set that is resisted only by Magnezone, Volt Absorb Lanturn, Shedinja, Frost and Heat Rotom, Seaking with Lightningrod and Mamoswine with Thick Fat. May also be used for any combination of Electric- and Template:Type2 moves, such as Thunderbolt and HP Ice.

Breloomurder

Works with a Breloom that has Spore, Focus Punch, Substitute, and Facade, the Poison Heal ability, while holding a Toxic Orb. After using Spore, Breloom is free to repeatedly charge and use a STAB Focus Punch on the sleeping foe. Furthermore, due to the poison induced by the held Toxic Orb, Facade's attack power is drastically increased, and Breloom's ability heals it every turn. Seed Bomb is sometimes used instead of Substitute to allow the user to hit Ghost-type Pokémon.

CalmCune

A Suicune with Calm Mind. Rest is often also used. A very powerful and over-used Pokémon due to Suicune's two weaknesses being special types, and as a result its effectiveness has been reduced with Generation IV's Attack/Special split. Some counters include a Hazer or PHazer, a strong Physical Electric- or Template:Type2 attack and the move Encore.

Celetran

A combination of Celebi and Heatran used in the same team, this works because Celebi covers all of Heatran's weaknesses and Heatran covers all of Celebi's weaknesses. Both of these Pokémon have mixed Wall stats, they can take on both Physical and Special hits.

There are other combinations like this, such as Latias or Latios and a Template:Type2 (a combination that resists every type in the game) though these combinations are not as well known.

ChainChomp

Garchomp that is designed as a Mixed Sweeper with the moves Draco Meteor and Fire Blast. The intention of this Pokémon is catching the opponent off guard as they send in a standard Physical Wall by taking advantage of most Physical Walls lacking a good Special Defense stat. A variation of this set can also be used with Salamence.

Crocune

A Suicune with the moves Rest, Sleep Talk, Calm Mind and Surf. The Cro prefix is also used for other Pokémon that work in a similar way, like Crophy and Crotomb.

Curselax

A moveset that uses Curse and Rest on an already slow Pokémon to ignore the Speed drop. Although Snorlax is the most common user (hence the name), it can also appear on other Pokémon (provided they aren't of the Template:Type2). Especially useful in a team using Trick Room as the Speed drops become Speed boosts instead.

DrizzleToed and DroughtTales

A Politoed or Ninetales with their Hidden Ability, Drizzle and Drought, respectively. Used to make permanent weather to help boost Politoed's/Ninetales's teammates and themselves. Tyranitar, Abomasnow, and Hippowdon are also used to set-up the weather.

F.E.A.R.

Main article: F.E.A.R

A last resort strategy involving a low-level Pokémon (such as Rattata) holding a Focus Sash with the moves Endeavor and Quick Attack. It aims to catch the opponent off-guard when he or she sees the low-level Rattata and attacks. The Focus Sash will activate and Rattata will use Endeavor to attack, lowering the opponent's HP to 1. Then the Rattata will use Quick Attack to finish off the opponent. There are many variations of this set that can be used by any Pokémon with Endeavor and a priority move. For instance, it has been used by a Dodrio in Pokémon Battle Revolution.

Flinchax

A moveset with a paralysis-inducing move to negate speed, and a flinch move such as Bite, Headbutt, Rock Slide, or Extrasensory, or a Pokémon holding a King's Rock. It relies on chance to repeatedly flinch the foe until it faints. As an added bonus, the paralysis will kick in 25% of the time, giving the foe only a 52.5% chance to use their attack in the event a 30% flinch-chance attack is used. Dunsparce was the most feared flinchaxor in Generation III, because its Serene Grace increases the flinch chance to 60% until the appearance of Togekiss in Generation IV. Jirachi can also do this with Zen Headbutt or Iron Head, Iron Head only available through a move tutor.

LeadApe

An Infernape used as a lead. Commonly knowing the moves Fake Out, Stealth Rock, Fire Blast, and Close Combat and holding a Focus Sash. Infernape is a popular lead for its ability to set up an entry hazard while generally knocking out the opponent's lead and preventing them from setting up Stealth Rock or Spikes. This Infernape set is used with a Naive or Hasty nature to boost speed while allowing Fire Blast, a special move, and Close Combat, a physical move, to do maximum damage. Generally, all Infernape's effort values for this set are invested into Attack, Special Attack, and Speed.

McIceGar

A moveset for Gengar with many variations. Usually used to describe the Subpunching Gengar with Thunderbolt and Ice Punch, but moves such as Psychic, Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb are sometimes included. As of Generation IV, Ice Punch is no longer a reliable option for McIceGar since it has become Physical, and so it must use Hidden Power instead.

MixApe

A commonly used mixed sweeper moveset for Infernape that is extremely useful for wall-breaking, especially Skarmbliss. The set consists of a combination of the moves Flamethrower/Fire Blast, Close Combat, Grass Knot, ThunderPunch, Hidden Power Ice and Nasty Plot. It usually holds the item Life Orb. Generally used with a Naive or Hasty nature, and all effort values are invested into Attack, Special Attack, and Speed.

MixMence

A commonly used variant of Salamence. It is a Sweeper that runs one of two movesets that utilize a mixture of strong physical and special attacks.

Pseudo-legendary Pokémon

Main article: Pseudo-legendary Pokémon

Any of the following Pokémon: Dragonite, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross, Garchomp, and Hydreigon. These Pokémon have base stat totals of 600 and diverse movepools, but are not legendary Pokémon.

PowerKing

A risky but extremely powerful double-battle strategy requiring three Pokémon and several steps. On the first turn a Medicham with Pure Power and low defenses is sent out with a fast and moderately defensive Pokémon with Skill Swap. The Medicham will be knocked out, but not before Skill Swap is used on it. An Adamant Slaking with the moves Endure, Reversal, Flail, Shadow Claw and the item Salac Berry is sent out in replacement of the Medicham. The second turn is the riskiest turn, as the opponent must attack the Slaking. The Pokémon with Skill Swap must use it on the Slaking and the Slaking must use Endure. At this point, Flail will have a power of 200 with STAB, Reversal can be used against Steel- and Rock-type Pokémon, and Shadow Claw can be used to hit Ghost-type Pokémon. A less powerful but less risky version can be done with a Regigigas.

RestoChesto

A Pokémon that knows Rest holding a Chesto Berry in order to immediately wake up after healing. Usually seen on tanks and walls.

RNG

An abbreviation for Random Number Generator. Players often manipulate the RNG to gain increased chances of catching Shiny Pokémon and getting Pokémon with better IVs

ScarfChomp

A Garchomp holding the item Choice Scarf, whose speed is multiplied by 1.5.

Seeder

Seeders are Pokémon that use Leech Seed to force switches, drain HP to heal themselves, or wear down defensive Pokémon. They are often used with Substitute known as Subseeders. Subseeders are often fast Pokémon that repeatedly use substitute while the opponent is afflicted with leech seed. The healing of leech seed allows them to gain back the health they lost from substitute while the opponent's health is slowly worn down. Examples of Subseeders are Whimsicott and Sceptile.

Skarmbliss

A combination of Skarmory and Blissey used in the same team, which is designed to make use of Skarmory's high Defense stat and numerous resistances, as well as Blissey's high Special Defense stat and extraordinary HP stat. It is very difficult to beat if one is not prepared, so most teams carry a Skarmbliss counter. This combination does not work as well in Generation IV because of the physical/special split. In Generation III, Skarmory's weaknesses were special, so Blissey could cover those weaknesses well, and Blissey's weakness was physical so Skarmory took that well. Due to the physical/special split, it isn't as reliable.

SpecsMence

A Salamence holding Choice Specs (or Wise Glasses in some cases), with the moves Draco Meteor, Fire Blast or Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, and Dragon Pulse.

Suicide Spiker/Rocker

A Forretress with the moveset consisting of Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes and Explosion. Set up all the traps then use explosion so the next Pokémon has to deal with the brunt of the attacks of the spikes taking up to 50% of their HP and being badly poisoned. Works well with a roarer to make all of the opponent's Pokémon suffer.

Suicide Lead

A moveset in which the user is equipped with a Focus Sash. The purpose of this moveset is to set up Stealth Rock, while anticipating an attack that could OHKO the user, but survives with the Focus Sash. This is a very common moveset for leading Azelf and Aerodactyl.

Subpasser

A moveset with Substitute and Baton Pass. Although any Pokémon that can learn Baton Pass can pass Substitutes, Pokémon with high HP are preferred so that the Substitute passed will also have a high HP. Subpassing is beneficial as it allows for a Pokémon to have a Substitute with a much higher HP than it could make itself. If such a Substitute is passed to a Wall or Tank, the opponent will have a hard time breaking the Substitute right away, allowing the target to reap the benefits of the Substitute, such as immunity to status effects. Subpasses can also pass defense boosts to make the Substitutes even harder to break, but then that only leaves them one move for attacking, making them very vulnerable to Taunt.

Subpuncher

A moveset with Substitute and Focus Punch to avoid the flinch chance from Focus Punch. Works best with slower Pokémon as the Substitute may end up being broken the turn it's made if the Subpuncher goes first. Slightly harder to use in Double Battles where the two Pokémon could gang up on the Subpuncher to break the Substitute and hit the Pokémon. Countered by Thick Club Marowak whose Bonemerang usually does enough damage to break the Substitute on the first hit, allowing the second hit to attack the Subpuncher directly. It's also is countered by Technician Ambipom who might break the Substitute on the first hit of Double Hit.

Sunnybeamer

A moveset with Sunny Day and SolarBeam to avoid the one turn charge up from SolarBeam. Often used on Pokémon with the Chlorophyll ability, Template:Type2 Pokémon, or Pokémon with the moves Synthesis, Morning Sun, or Moonlight, for increased HP recovery

TechniLoom

Breloom with its hidden ability, Technician, that knows Mach Punch and Bullet Seed.

Thunderdancer

A moveset with Rain Dance and Thunder to give Thunder 100% accuracy. Pokémon with the Volt Absorb or Water Absorb ability are preferred, due to their immunity to enemy Surfs and Thunders.

TyraniBoah

A moveset specifically for Tyranitar (but also viable on others) with the Subpuncher combo and the Boltbeam (or in Tyranitar's case, BoltCrunch) combo. It is also an example of very advanced battling techniques on both sides, as it requires you to predict that your opponent will predict your next attack and switch to something resistant to it. An example of this would be if your opponent has a Salamence in play and expects you to use Ice Beam and thus switches to a Starmie. Predicting the switch, you actually select Thunderbolt or Crunch and beat the Starmie on the switch-in.

Wondertomb/Wondereye

A hacked Spiritomb or Sableye with the ability Wonder Guard. Since Spiritomb and Sableye have no weaknesses they cannot be damaged by normal attacks. However, they can be damaged by status ailments, weather conditions, entry hazards, Fire Fang*, Future Sight, Doom Desire, recoil, Life Orb, Sticky Barb, Black Sludge, Rough Skin, fixed-damage attacks, after the use of Gastro Acid, Foresight, Odor Sleuth, Skill Swap, Worry Seed or Soak, and by Pokémon with Mold Breaker, Turboblaze, Teravolt or Scrappy.

Tier

Main article: Tiers

A tier is a list of Pokémon in the metagame selected based on numerous traits, such as how the Pokémon's stats are distributed, its type and moves, and overall ability in battle.

Uber

A tier of the metagame, currently the highest there is. It is mostly consisted of legendaries, although not all of them are in the Uber tier. Abilities can also be Uber.

OU

Over-Used. A tier of the metagame. It is the second highest tier, only surpassed by Uber.

BL

Borderline. A tier of the metagame. It is the third highest tier, in between OU and UU.

UU

Under-Used. A tier of the metagame that is the third lowest, not counting NFE.

RU

Rarely-Used. A tier in the metagame that is the second lowest, not counting NFE. This tier first appeared in Generation V.

NU

Never-Used. A tier of the metagame. It is currently the lowest tier to date, not counting NFE. This tier first appeared in Generation III.

NFE

Not an actual tier, but a term used to describe Pokémon that are not fully evolved, and thus should not be used competitively until they evolve. There are some NFEs that can viably be used competitively, namely:

Some NFEs do exactly the same as their evolution. These may also be used competitively, but only in lower tiers than their evolution. For example, Chansey can be used in UU because its evolution Blissey is in OU, which makes it banned from UU. Another example of this is Munchlax in NU. There are some Pokémon that work in OU that are NFEs, such as Porygon2, because it fits in differently from its evolution, Porygon-Z. Several other NFE Pokémon became viable, even in OU, with the Eviolite.

This article is a part of Project Fandom, a Bulbapedia Project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every aspect of the Pokémon Fandom.