FLCL
Nintendo 3DS Legend
Towns Folk
I've decided to create this thread for any new competitive player who might need an explanation on Pokemon roles, terms, abbreviations, etc.
Common Play Styles
Hyper Offense
Offensive teams are built around speed and power to cripple the opponent's team, a HO (Hyper Offensive) team will typically carry a Suicide Lead to set up entry hazards to support Sweepers.
Bulky Offense
A play style where 4-6 members are offensive Pokemon that also have significant bulk, resistances, and other defensive attributes. Bulky offensive teams use their ability to tank hits through defenses while still being able to put offensive pressure on the opponent's teams. Like stall, it's also fully capable of using its defensive core to effectively pivot and switch for momentum.
Balance
This play style doesn't rely on one particular Pokemon, but typically is built around a defensive core of walls and tanks and an offensive core of set up mons and wallbreakers. Similar to HO, Balanced teams tend to rely on entry hazards like Stealth Rocks and Spikes to cripple the opponent so your set up mons and wallbreakers can clean up easier.
Stall
Stall teams are based around residual damage such as entry hazards and status effects and typically carry a Pokemon capable of using phazing moves like Whirlwind/Roar. Stall teams normally carry 4-5 Pokemon with good defenses and at least 1 Pokemon capable of keeping offensive pressure on the opponent.
Pokemon Roles
Suicide Lead/Lead
A Pokemon that is used to set up entry hazards like Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Sticky Web, etc, a Pokemon like Smeargle is referred to as a Suicide Lead, as its only goal is to set up hazards and faint, however it can be preserved for later as a sack in order to give another team member a free switch in.
Rapid Spinner/Defogger
A Pokemon that is used to get rid of entry hazards, however beware of Ghost types that can prevent Rapid Spin and Defiant/Competitive users that can get a potential stat boost from Defog.
Glass Cannon
A Pokemon with great offensive capabilities but poor/horrible bulk, an example would be Alakazam or Weavile.
Trappers
A Pokemon with access to abilities like Arena Trap/Shadow Tag or moves like Pursuit, and are used to trap threats. For example if you're having difficulty against Latias/Latios, you might benefit greatly from a Pokemon like Bisharp or Scarf Tyranitar who can switch in relatively safely and use Pursuit which in most cases will OHKO the threat.
Wall
A Pokemon who relies on its physical/special defense in order to sponge damage previously directed at another team member. Examples would be Skarmory and Blissey, which synergize well and form a solid defensive core.
Pivot
A Pokemon used for switching. Moves like U Turn/Volt Switch are used to get momentum and get a switch into a Pokemon, another example of a Pivot would be a Pokemon with significant bulk such as Amoonguss who can switch in on a Pokemon and threaten the opponent with a Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb, and as they switch into their special wall, you can make a predicted switch into a wallbreaker.
Wallbreaker
A Pokemon with good physical/special movepool and stat placement which they can use in order to break down walls. An example would be Garchomp, since it has access to moves like Draco Meteor and Earthquake, it can tear through many common walls used in the game.
Physical Sweeper
A Pokemon who is physically offensive and tends to have access to moves like Dragon Dance and Sword Dance, which they can use to boost their Atk stat and sweep once their counters have been weakened or disposed of.
Special Sweeper
A Pokemon who is specially oriented and has access to Nasty Plot or Calm Mind, an example would be Thundurus Therian who has access to Nasty Plot and decent coverage moves.
Mixed Sweeper
A Pokemon that can use physical/special moves in order to sweep the opponent. An example would be Infernape, who has access to moves like Nasty Plot, Sword Dance, Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave and Fire Blast can easily cripple an unprepared team.
Cleric
A Pokemon with access to moves like Aromatherapy and Heal Bell and can heal its team members of status, Pokemon such as Clefable and Chansey/Blissey fill these role quite nicely.
Lure
A set that utilizes uncommon moves and/or items in order to lure in and take out the normal checks and counters of the Pokemon using the lure, examples would be Natural Gift Talonflame and Power Herb Solar Beam Heatran, which are capable of checking Rotom Wash.
Gimmick
An unreliable set that functions on very certain circumstances and is usually more cost than reward, an example would be HP Fire Mega Metagross which can deal with Mega Scizor, but since it takes up a vital moveslot, you're better off leaving the role of crippling Mega Scizor to another team member.
Move Combinations and Move Abbreviations
SubCM
Substitute and Calm Mind
SmashPass
Shell Smash + Baton Pass
Paraflinch
Using a combination of paralysis and flinches to keep the opponent from attacking
SubPunch
Substitute + Focus Punch
BoltBeam
Thunderbolt + Ice Beam
EdgeQuake
Combination of Stone Edge and Earthquake
DD
Dragon Dance
SD
Sword Dance
HP
Hidden Power
BP
Baton Pass or Bullet Punch
Terms and Abbreviations
STAB
Same Type Attack Bonus
DragMag
A Pokemon with Magnet Pull used in conjunction with a Dragon type
Hax
Bad luck that could decide the outcome of a match
OHKO
One Hit Knock Out
I should also give a explanation/definition to one of the most important concepts in competitive play and that would be knowing the difference between a Check and a Counter
Check
A check is a Pokemon that can switch in safely due to you sacrificing a weakened Pokemon or possibly from getting off a slow Volt Switch/U Turn which forces your opponent to switch out due to your Pokemon having an advantage whether it is typing or stat related.
An example would be that Mold Breaker Excadrill is a check to Rotom Wash, since it fears Hydro Pump and Will O Wisp it is not considered a counter.
Counter
A counter is a Pokemon that can switch into the majority if not all of the opposing Pokemon's various sets, take little to no damage and deal with it accordingly.
An example would be that Rotom Wash is a counter to Talonflame the majority of the time, however if Talonflame happens to be a Sword Dance Natural Gift set, Rotom Wash is not a reliable counter, especially if it has taken Stealth Rock damage.
4 Moveslot Syndrome (4MSS)
When a Pokemon needs more than 4 moves to really cover everything it wants and as a result has to give up some choices, examples would be Mega Metagross, Dragonite, Ferrothorn and Chansey.
Momentum
The advantage held by a player that's generated over the course of multiple turns by forcing the opponent's Pokemon into unfavorable match-ups, thus forcing them to frequently switch and give up free turns allowing you to gain momentum.
Overcentralization
Overcentralization is when a Pokemon forces the entire tier around it, forcing the use of normally bad Pokemon or movesets to check or counter it, examples would be Greninja and Mega Salamence.
Feel free to tell me anything I forgot to mention, though this is not a comprehensive competitive guide as it only goes over basic terminology.
Common Play Styles
Hyper Offense
Offensive teams are built around speed and power to cripple the opponent's team, a HO (Hyper Offensive) team will typically carry a Suicide Lead to set up entry hazards to support Sweepers.
Bulky Offense
A play style where 4-6 members are offensive Pokemon that also have significant bulk, resistances, and other defensive attributes. Bulky offensive teams use their ability to tank hits through defenses while still being able to put offensive pressure on the opponent's teams. Like stall, it's also fully capable of using its defensive core to effectively pivot and switch for momentum.
Balance
This play style doesn't rely on one particular Pokemon, but typically is built around a defensive core of walls and tanks and an offensive core of set up mons and wallbreakers. Similar to HO, Balanced teams tend to rely on entry hazards like Stealth Rocks and Spikes to cripple the opponent so your set up mons and wallbreakers can clean up easier.
Stall
Stall teams are based around residual damage such as entry hazards and status effects and typically carry a Pokemon capable of using phazing moves like Whirlwind/Roar. Stall teams normally carry 4-5 Pokemon with good defenses and at least 1 Pokemon capable of keeping offensive pressure on the opponent.
Pokemon Roles
Suicide Lead/Lead
A Pokemon that is used to set up entry hazards like Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Sticky Web, etc, a Pokemon like Smeargle is referred to as a Suicide Lead, as its only goal is to set up hazards and faint, however it can be preserved for later as a sack in order to give another team member a free switch in.
Rapid Spinner/Defogger
A Pokemon that is used to get rid of entry hazards, however beware of Ghost types that can prevent Rapid Spin and Defiant/Competitive users that can get a potential stat boost from Defog.
Glass Cannon
A Pokemon with great offensive capabilities but poor/horrible bulk, an example would be Alakazam or Weavile.
Trappers
A Pokemon with access to abilities like Arena Trap/Shadow Tag or moves like Pursuit, and are used to trap threats. For example if you're having difficulty against Latias/Latios, you might benefit greatly from a Pokemon like Bisharp or Scarf Tyranitar who can switch in relatively safely and use Pursuit which in most cases will OHKO the threat.
Wall
A Pokemon who relies on its physical/special defense in order to sponge damage previously directed at another team member. Examples would be Skarmory and Blissey, which synergize well and form a solid defensive core.
Pivot
A Pokemon used for switching. Moves like U Turn/Volt Switch are used to get momentum and get a switch into a Pokemon, another example of a Pivot would be a Pokemon with significant bulk such as Amoonguss who can switch in on a Pokemon and threaten the opponent with a Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb, and as they switch into their special wall, you can make a predicted switch into a wallbreaker.
Wallbreaker
A Pokemon with good physical/special movepool and stat placement which they can use in order to break down walls. An example would be Garchomp, since it has access to moves like Draco Meteor and Earthquake, it can tear through many common walls used in the game.
Physical Sweeper
A Pokemon who is physically offensive and tends to have access to moves like Dragon Dance and Sword Dance, which they can use to boost their Atk stat and sweep once their counters have been weakened or disposed of.
Special Sweeper
A Pokemon who is specially oriented and has access to Nasty Plot or Calm Mind, an example would be Thundurus Therian who has access to Nasty Plot and decent coverage moves.
Mixed Sweeper
A Pokemon that can use physical/special moves in order to sweep the opponent. An example would be Infernape, who has access to moves like Nasty Plot, Sword Dance, Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave and Fire Blast can easily cripple an unprepared team.
Cleric
A Pokemon with access to moves like Aromatherapy and Heal Bell and can heal its team members of status, Pokemon such as Clefable and Chansey/Blissey fill these role quite nicely.
Lure
A set that utilizes uncommon moves and/or items in order to lure in and take out the normal checks and counters of the Pokemon using the lure, examples would be Natural Gift Talonflame and Power Herb Solar Beam Heatran, which are capable of checking Rotom Wash.
Gimmick
An unreliable set that functions on very certain circumstances and is usually more cost than reward, an example would be HP Fire Mega Metagross which can deal with Mega Scizor, but since it takes up a vital moveslot, you're better off leaving the role of crippling Mega Scizor to another team member.
Move Combinations and Move Abbreviations
SubCM
Substitute and Calm Mind
SmashPass
Shell Smash + Baton Pass
Paraflinch
Using a combination of paralysis and flinches to keep the opponent from attacking
SubPunch
Substitute + Focus Punch
BoltBeam
Thunderbolt + Ice Beam
EdgeQuake
Combination of Stone Edge and Earthquake
DD
Dragon Dance
SD
Sword Dance
HP
Hidden Power
BP
Baton Pass or Bullet Punch
Terms and Abbreviations
STAB
Same Type Attack Bonus
DragMag
A Pokemon with Magnet Pull used in conjunction with a Dragon type
Hax
Bad luck that could decide the outcome of a match
OHKO
One Hit Knock Out
I should also give a explanation/definition to one of the most important concepts in competitive play and that would be knowing the difference between a Check and a Counter
Check
A check is a Pokemon that can switch in safely due to you sacrificing a weakened Pokemon or possibly from getting off a slow Volt Switch/U Turn which forces your opponent to switch out due to your Pokemon having an advantage whether it is typing or stat related.
An example would be that Mold Breaker Excadrill is a check to Rotom Wash, since it fears Hydro Pump and Will O Wisp it is not considered a counter.
Counter
A counter is a Pokemon that can switch into the majority if not all of the opposing Pokemon's various sets, take little to no damage and deal with it accordingly.
An example would be that Rotom Wash is a counter to Talonflame the majority of the time, however if Talonflame happens to be a Sword Dance Natural Gift set, Rotom Wash is not a reliable counter, especially if it has taken Stealth Rock damage.
4 Moveslot Syndrome (4MSS)
When a Pokemon needs more than 4 moves to really cover everything it wants and as a result has to give up some choices, examples would be Mega Metagross, Dragonite, Ferrothorn and Chansey.
Momentum
The advantage held by a player that's generated over the course of multiple turns by forcing the opponent's Pokemon into unfavorable match-ups, thus forcing them to frequently switch and give up free turns allowing you to gain momentum.
Overcentralization
Overcentralization is when a Pokemon forces the entire tier around it, forcing the use of normally bad Pokemon or movesets to check or counter it, examples would be Greninja and Mega Salamence.
Feel free to tell me anything I forgot to mention, though this is not a comprehensive competitive guide as it only goes over basic terminology.
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