Guides
Competitive Pokémon, explained
Long-form writing on Smogon tiers, VGC regulations, and how to build a team that actually holds up on ladder. Every guide links back to the MetaMons AI Pokémon Team Builder so you can understand the analysis before testing ideas against your own six. For a lighter challenge, visit the free Pokémon games hub.
VGC
Pokémon Damage Calculations: Build Teams Around Real KO Ranges
Learn how to use Pokémon damage calculations for competitive team building: identify guaranteed KOs, choose EV benchmarks, account for hazards, and avoid misleading damage ranges.
Read guide →VGC
VGC Speed Control Guide: Tailwind, Trick Room, and Icy Wind
Build a reliable VGC speed-control plan with Tailwind, Trick Room, Icy Wind, Thunder Wave, and priority. Learn when each option wins turns and how to avoid conflicting speed modes.
Read guide →AI
AI Pokémon Team Rater: How AI Analyzes Your Competitive Team
How the Metamons AI team rater evaluates your Pokémon team on type coverage, speed tiers, role balance, and threat matchups — and what to fix after the AI flags a weakness.
Read guide →AI
AI Team Coach: How the Metamons AI Improves Your Pokémon Team
How the Metamons AI team coach analyzes your Pokémon team, what each section of the AI report means, and how to turn AI feedback into ladder wins.
Read guide →VGC
Beginner's Guide to Competitive Pokémon: From Casual to Ranked
Everything a new competitive Pokémon player needs to know: Smogon vs VGC, how tiers work, basic team building, EVs and IVs explained simply, and how to start playing on Showdown.
Read guide →SMOGON
Best Pokémon Teams for Gen 9 OU: Proven 6-Pokémon Lineups
Three proven Gen 9 OU teams with complete sets, EV spreads, and an explanation of why each works. Import them straight into Showdown or the Metamons team builder.
Read guide →AI
How to Use the Metamons AI Team Builder: Complete Walkthrough
A step-by-step walkthrough of every feature in the Metamons AI Pokémon team builder: format selection, team slots, EV editing, type coverage heatmap, AI coaching, and Showdown export.
Read guide →TOOLS
Pokémon Team Import & Export Guide: Showdown, Paste, and Share
How to import Pokémon teams from Showdown, export teams from Metamons, share team links, and move teams between builders without losing moves, EVs, or sets.
Read guide →VGC
Best Tera Types for Competitive Pokémon (2026)
A role by role guide to picking the right Tera Type for every Pokémon on your team. Covers defensive Teras, offensive Teras, and the ones that win tournaments.
Read guide →EV TRAINING
How to EV Train Pokémon for Competitive Play (Scarlet & Violet)
A step by step guide to EV training for ranked battles. Covers in game methods, reading Smogon spreads, the speed creep rule, and how the Metamons builder shows live stats as you adjust.
Read guide →ABILITIES
Competitive Pokemon Abilities Guide: How Abilities Define Roles
The abilities that shape Gen 9 competitive teams, how to pick the right ability for each role, and which hidden abilities are worth chasing before you build.
Read guide →SPEED
Pokemon Speed Tiers Guide: How Speed Wins and Loses Competitive Games
How speed tiers work in competitive Pokemon, which benchmarks matter in Gen 9 OU, and how to EV your team so the right Pokemon always moves first.
Read guide →STRATEGY
Pokemon Team Roles Explained: Sweepers, Walls, Pivots and More
A plain-English breakdown of every competitive Pokemon team role, what each one does, and how to fill all six slots before you ever touch the team builder.
Read guide →TIER LIST
Gen 9 OU Tier List 2026: The Best Pokémon for Ranked Singles
The Pokémon that currently define Gen 9 OU singles, grouped by role, with the matchups that explain why each one earns a slot on ranked teams.
Read guide →SMOGON
How to Build a Smogon Team: OU Team Building from Scratch
A step-by-step framework for building a competitive Smogon OU singles team: win conditions, cores, hazards, speed tiers, and the playtesting loop that actually improves a roster.
Read guide →TYPE COVERAGE
Pokémon Type Coverage Explained: How to Cover All 18 Types
How to audit a competitive Pokémon team's type coverage: the resist-or-punish rule, the types that break the most teams, and how to fix gaps without rebuilding from scratch.
Read guide →VGC
How to Build a VGC Team: A Step-by-Step Guide for New Players
A practical framework for building a VGC doubles team from scratch: roles, type coverage, speed tiers, theme teams, and the threats you have to answer before ranked.
Read guide →SMOGON
Smogon Tiers Explained: OU, UU, RU, NU, PU, Ubers, and LC
A full breakdown of every Smogon singles tier, how Pokémon move between them, and how to pick the right tier to build a team you can actually win with.
Read guide →
Metamons & team builder FAQ
How Metamons stacks up against other builders, which formats it covers, and where the Pokédex data comes from. The same answers show up whenever you follow a guide into the builder.