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Playing the VG Competitively: Tiers, EV’s, IV’s and Organized Play

Yo guys Oli here, posting another article on this site, probably the first time in a month. This will be about the Video Game and how it works so let me get stuck in.

Firstly there is a tier system in the Video Games much like the TCG but except Tier 1, 2, 3 etc these are different.

These tiers are: OU, UU, RU, NU, LC and UBER’s, along with double battle formats. Now then here is an explanation:

Video Game Tiers:

OU: It means Over-Used tier; this tier is what most people outside of organized play use. OU has basically every Pokemon that is used within the meta for example: Dragonite is OU because it has amazing stats across the board, good movepool and nice ability all of which make it extremely used compared to something like Beedrill, for example.

UU: It means Under-Used tier; this tier is often regarded as more fun (in my opinion) than OU due to the fact you still use powerful Pokemon but they get used less. For example: Azelf is UU because it has a nice movepool, good attacking stats and ranged set uses. But it has a Psychic typing making it weak to things like Ghost types, Dark types, Bug types etc

RU: It means Rarely-Used tier; this tier is not played too often because UU has more good Pokemon involved. Due to the fact of most of RU being Pokemon that aren’t extremely powerful but aren’t pathetic either. E.G. Aggron is quite bulky and has high attacking stats but is weak to a load of firepower in the upper tier bases.

NU: as you may have guessed means Never-Used; this tier is where the bottom of the barrel are, pathetic Pokemon that would not survive anywhere else. For example Moltres is NU because it is weak to the most powerful move, Stealth Rock. Stealth Rock is an entry hazard which deals damage to opposing Pokemon on entry into the field. When a Pokemon that is 4x weak to Rock enters they take 50% of their maximum health away instantly. Thus making stuff like Moltres unplayable.

LC: means LittleCup; this tier is basically where lv.5 non evolved Pokemon battle and is often a fun tier to play due to its lack of “intense” skill. I enjoy this tier due to its simplicity, well that and its got a sense of kindness to it. Almost the same feeling as the Trading Card Game, which is why I like it.

UBER’s: this is the tier where anything goes and you can play whatever the heck you want, it doesn’t matter. This is different from the OU list because you can’t play banned Pokemon there e.g. Rayquaza is UBER because of its insane speed, attack stats and its ability to get instant + in stats from things like Dragon Dance.

The final format is Doubles; in this meta you and your opponent play with two Pokemon active on both sides, as a result requiring you to play and think differently than singles. But the true reason Doubles is played is simply because you must play that format in organized play but I will explain this later, for now I think it is crucial you understand how to train Pokemon properly.

In the Pokemon games you cannot simply be given everything such as moves, HP etc. You must train your Pokemon to a decent standard. But in all things in life just doing something to a good standard requires a lot of effort. Firstly you need to EV train your Pokemon.

What are EV’s?

EV’s are basically your stat boosts that you gain on level up for battling specific Pokemon. So for instance, say if my Riolu at level 5 battled a wild Patrat. When I defeated said Patrat, my Riolu would get 1 Atk EV. A Pokemon may only have 252 EV’s per one stat maximum and the total EV’s on your Pokemon must total 508 (approx.) at the most. If this isn’t the case, your Pokemon is fake. You can also use items such as the Power Items or Macho Brace to make this process faster, which I highly recommend.

What are IVs?

IV’s are useful mainly for working with Hidden Power and Trick Room as Hidden Power’s type is dependant on your IV’s and Trick Room works off of Speed, making these quite useable.

(A good resource for information on how to build teams, EV train, IV train and much more is www.smogon.com)

Organized Play

Now then, about Organized Play. First and foremost the VGC series is pretty different to the normal TCG series, especially in Europe. Firstly in the US the VGC’s only have two events, Regional Championships and Nationals, where you basically play to get the most Championship points and hopefully win an invite to Worlds.

Over here in Europe it’s different being that you actually have only Nationals to qualify to worlds, meaning doing well and learning the game is key to sucess.

The prizes are also quite different.

These are for American Regionals:

1st Place

A Pokémon Video Game Regional Championships 1st Place medal
A Travel Award for the winner (including a parent or legal guardian for players under 18) to the 2012 Pokémon Video Game U.S. National Championships at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, OR the 2012 Pokémon Video Game Canada National Championships in Toronto, ON.*
A first- and second-round bye at the 2012 Pokémon Video Game U.S. National Championships**
Additional Pokémon-themed items
10 Championship Points

2nd Place

A Pokémon Video Game Regional Championships 2nd Place medal
A $300 travel allowance (including an additional $300 travel allowance for players under 18) to participate in the 2012 Pokémon Video Game U.S. National Championships at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, OR the 2012 Pokémon Video Game Canada National Championships in Toronto, ON.*
A first- and second-round bye at the 2012 Pokémon Video Game U.S. National Championships**
Additional Pokémon-themed items
8 Championship Points

3rd & 4th Place

A Pokémon Video Game Regional Championships 3rd or 4th Place medal
A $300 travel allowance (including an additional $300 travel allowance for players under 18) to participate in the 2012 Pokémon Video Game U.S. National Championships at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, OR the 2012 Pokémon Video Game Canada National Championships in Toronto, ON.*
Additional Pokémon-themed items
6 Championship Points

5th Place through 8th Place

5 Championship Points

9th Place through 12th Place

4 Championship Points (if division attendance is 32 or greater)

13th Place through 16th Place

3 Championship Points (if division attendance is 64 or greater)

17th Place through 32nd Place

2 Championship Points (if division attendance is 64 or greater)

33rd Place through 64th Place

1 Championship Point (if division attendance is 128 or greater)

Then this is for the European Nationals: