Pokemon Showdown is an online battle simulator that allows players to test out their skills against other Pokémon fans from all over the world. Developers launched it in 2011 and it quickly became one of the most popular ways to play Pokémon battles online.
One of the best things about Pokémon Showdown is that it’s completely free. You don’t need to pay anything to create an account, build a team, or participate in battles. This makes it accessible to players of all skill levels and budgets.
Pokemon Showdown Features
One of the most notable features of Pokémon Showdown is its user-friendly interface. It’s easy to create a team, search for opponents, and start a battle. The website is available in multiple languages, making it accessible to players from all over the world.
The Pokemon Showdown Team Builder lets you select any Pokemon you want to add to your team. You can fully customize its moveset, IV, EV, nature, etc. You will get the team of your dreams as long as restrictions allow it.
Customization is another great feature of Pokémon Showdown. Players can choose from a variety of formats, rules, and restrictions for their battles, making it easy to create a personalized experience.
This includes being able to play with or without certain Pokémon, set up a double battle or a single battle, and choose the weather conditions for their battle.
The competitive scene is also a significant feature of Pokémon Showdown. Players can participate in online tournaments and leagues using the platform. The game also has an MMR system, ensuring that the competitive spirits of players will remain high.
This has led to a thriving competitive community, with players from all over the world competing for prizes and recognition.
Custom content is another major feature of Pokémon Showdown. Players can create and share their custom content, including new Pokémon designs and custom battle formats. This makes it a great place to discover new and interesting ways to play the game.
Showdown Tiers
Pokémon Showdown also features a tier system that categorizes Pokémon based on their competitive viability. This system ensures that players go up against opponents with the same restrictions that you have. This will enforce competitive fairness between competitors.
The tiers include:
- Uber: Overpowered Pokemon that you cannot use from most competitive play.
- OU (Overused): Frequently used Pokemon in competitive play.
- UU (Underused): Less commonly used Pokemon in competitive play.
- RU (Rarely Used): Rarely used Pokemon in competitive play.
- NU (Never Used): Almost never used Pokemon in competitive play.
- PU (Poorly Used): Pokémon that are considered weak and have few competitive options.
Game Modes:
Pokémon Showdown offers a variety of game modes for players to choose from, including:
- Random Battle: A mode where players are given a random team and battle against other players with random teams.
- OU: A mode where players battle using Pokémon from the Overused tier.
- Ubers: A mode where players battle using Pokémon from the Uber tier.
- VGC (Video Game Championships): A mode that follows the official Pokémon competitive format used in official tournaments.
- Doubles: A mode that lets players battle with two Pokemon at once.
Pokemon Showdown Rules and Restrictions
- Banned Pokemon and Moves: As with the reasoning from other games, Pokemon and Moves often get banned within a Format due to their potential to give an unfair advantage to a specific side.
- Endless Battle Clause. Most Formats don’t allow Pokemon to have moves that have the potential to cause an endless battle. These include a Pokemon not being allowed to carry Recycle, hold a Leppa Berry, and have Fling or Pain Split as a Move.
- OHKO (One-Hit KO). A Pokemon can’t have Sheer Cold, Horn Drill, Guillotine, and Fissure in their moveset. This is because these moves can cause OHKO.
- Moody Clause. Pokemon aren’t allowed to have the ability Moody. This is because Moody can raise a random stat per turn, including Evasion.
- Sleep Clause. Only one Pokemon per team can be put to Sleep at any time, except for Moves such as Rest.
- Species Clause. Some Formats don’t allow two Pokemon of the same species to be on the same team.
