A Guide to Tiers Tiers are used to allow the PO (Pokémon Online) community to divide Pokémon into groups based on how good they are. Basically, tiers allow us to create competitive environments where weaker Pokémon can be used without being completely overpowered by stronger ones. Main Tiers PO's main tiers are listed in the following table. USAGE TIERS UbersOU (Over Used) > UU (Under Used) > LU (Lesser Used) > NU (Never Used)LC (Little Cup) Brief Main Tier Summary OU (Over Used) is the primary and most popular tier that allows most Pokémon, but strong Pokémon such as Arceus and Mewtwo are banned. The tiers below OU: UU (Under Used), LU (Lesser Used), and NU (Never Used) restrict more Pokémon as the tier level decreases, which creates opportunities for Pokémon with less usage to shine (hence the names). Ubers is the highest tier where almost every Pokémon is allowed. LC (Little Cup) is the lowest tier, and it only allows Pokémon that have not evolved, and battles are set at level 5. Note that Ubers and LC are not usage tiers, which means that Pokémon cannot be added or removed from these tiers based on usage. Tier Listing A listing of the Pokémon allowed in each tier can be found here. Tier Subforums Each main tier has its own subforum on the Pokémon Online forums. In these subforums, you can: Discuss the tier in general. This includes strategies and Pokémon that you think should be banned or should not be banned. Discuss Viability Rankings that show how good individual Pokémon are within the tier. You are welcome to discuss and propose Viability Rankings for various Pokémon. Participate in Suspect Discussions which are about banning something from a tier. Only Tier Leaders are allowed to start suspect threads. A guide to suspect posting can be found here. Tier Shifts Tier shifts occur once every 2 months, and they allow certain Pokémon to shift from one tier to another based on usage. UU, LU, and NU are the only tiers affected by tier shifts. Other Tiers PO has many other tiers in addition to the main tiers. For side tiers such as Monotype and SM Balanced Hackmons, check out the Side Metagames subforum. For tiers from past generations, check out the Gen 6 Forum and the Past Gens Forum. Get Started! In all of these areas, your feedback as a player is needed and welcome! Feel free to click on any of the tiers listed above to be taken to the appropriate subforum for that tier.
