Strategy & Meta

Pokémon Blog

Competitive Pokémon blog: strategy guides, meta shifts and usage-stat analysis for VGC and Smogon singles.

Volcarona
FeaturedTeam buildingStealth Rock still decides more games than any other moveTwelve percent chip damage sounds harmless until you count what it removes from the tier. Here is what Stealth Rock actually does to Gen 9 OU teams, and how to build around it.Read article · 3 min
Kingambit
DataHow to read usage stats without fooling yourself

Usage percentage is the most quoted and least understood number in competitive Pokemon. Here is what the ladder cutoffs mean and which numbers are worth building around.

Read · 1 min
Dragapult
FundamentalsThe four speed benchmarks worth memorising

You do not need the full speed tier list. You need four numbers and the reason each one exists — everything else on a team is built relative to them.

Read · 1 min