Smogon tier
/ˈsmoʊɡɒn tɪər/
CommonThe ranking system used by the Smogon community to sort Pokemon into competitive tiers based on how often they appear in high-level play.
Smogon tiers shift over time based on usage statistics. A Pokemon dropping or rising in tier is community news. 'Smogon' alone often refers to both the tier system and the rules it defines.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | flutter mane got banned to ubers because its smogon tier kept going up | The Pokemon was too dominant in high-level play and got moved to the ban tier. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | I play strictly by Smogon tiers. VGC rules feel weird to me | The player prefers the Smogon ruleset over the official game's format. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | my favorite pokemon is garbage tier in smogon but I don't care I run it anyway | The player's preferred Pokemon is rated as weak but they use it out of affection. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | do Smogon tiers even matter if you're just playing with friends | Questioning whether the tier system is relevant in casual, non-ranked settings. | reddit, 2022 |
Use it when
- Asking where a specific Pokemon sits in the competitive hierarchy.
- Discussing balance changes after a Pokemon gets moved up or banned.
- Explaining why a certain Pokemon is not allowed in standard play.
Do not use it when
- You mean the official game's ranked ladder, which uses different rules.Use “VGC” instead.
- You are ranking Pokemon by personal preference.
Smogon tier vs VGC
Smogon tier
Smogon tiers are community-made, singles-based rulesets developed on fan forums and Showdown.
vgc
VGC (Video Game Championships) is the official Nintendo/GameFreak doubles format used in tournaments.
Origin and context
Smogon University was founded in 2004 as an online Pokemon competitive community. The tier system it developed became the de facto standard for fan-run competitive Pokemon, with tiers determined by usage statistics gathered from Smogon's Pokemon Showdown simulator.
- First seen
- 2004
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/smogon-tier