OU team
/ˌoʊ ˈjuː tiːm/
CommonA Pokemon team built for OverUsed, the most popular Smogon competitive tier, using only Pokemon that are legal in that tier.
OU is used both as a noun (the tier) and an adjective (describing Pokemon or teams in that tier). 'OU team' specifically means the team is built for and legal in that format.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | rate my OU team pls. been losing to rain teams all week and I don't know how to counter | Asking for feedback on a team that is struggling against a specific weather-based strategy. | reddit, 2024 |
| 02 | took me three weeks to build this OU team and I got swept by a random iron bundle | After significant effort building a competitive team, a fast offensive Pokemon destroyed it quickly. | x, 2023 |
| 03 | the current OU meta is just stall vs offense and it's getting boring | The competitive landscape is dominated by only two playstyles, making matches feel repetitive. | reddit, 2023 |
| 04 | this pokemon dropped to OU last month so now I can finally use it in my team | A Pokemon moved down from a higher tier and is now legal in the standard format. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- Building or discussing a team for Smogon's OverUsed format.
- Asking for help or feedback on a standard competitive team.
- Referencing the tier a specific Pokemon is allowed in.
Do not use it when
- You mean the official Nintendo ranked format.Use “VGC team” instead.
- You mean a team in a different Smogon tier like UU or Ubers.
Variations and related forms
OU vs Ubers
OU team
OU is the main standard tier for competitive Pokemon under Smogon rules.
ubers
Ubers is the tier above OU where Pokemon banned from OU are placed.
Origin and context
The OU (OverUsed) tier was developed by Smogon University in the mid-2000s as the primary standard for competitive Pokemon play. The name reflects its origin as a usage-based system: Pokemon used by more than a threshold percentage of teams were classified as OU.
- First seen
- mid-2000s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/ou-team