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 team builder so you can test the ideas against your own six without leaving the tab.
- 5 min read
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, and the threats you have to answer before ranked.- vgc
- doubles
- team-building
- strategy
- 5 min read
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.- smogon
- singles
- tiers
- strategy
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.
How is Metamons different from the Pokémon Showdown team builder?
Showdown's builder is a form, a flat interface for filling in movesets and EVs. Metamons adds AI-assisted type-coverage reads, weakness analysis across all six of your Pokémon, and plain-English feedback on what threatens your core before you queue. Anything you build here still exports as a standard Showdown paste.Which competitive formats are supported?
Smogon singles (OU, UU, RU, NU, PU, Ubers, LC) plus official doubles (VGC), across Generations 1 through 9. Learnsets, abilities, and legality all scope to the format you pick, so you can't accidentally field an illegal set.Is Metamons free to use?
Yes. Team building, coverage reads, and the full Pokédex are free. You don't need an account to build a team, export it, or share it.Do you save my teams?
Teams live in your browser by default. There's no server-side account in this release, so nothing is sent anywhere unless you explicitly export a paste or share a team URL.Where does the Pokémon data come from?
Species, types, abilities, and movesets come from PokéAPI. Competitive tiers and usage context follow Smogon's published tier lists. Sprites and official artwork are served straight from PokéAPI's public asset CDN.