Forum Rules and Guidelines - READ FIRST

Team Forum Guidelines
This forum is for sharing teams and there are differences from the guidelines of RMTs found in other forums.

Posting Format

• You must include an importable, to allow for easy team sharing and testing. Simply copy the text from Pokemon Online, NetBattle Supremacy, or Shoddy Battle; using the Export to Text function and paste it into a post. Wrap that using [ hide] [/hide ] tags around the team. This should be on the very top or bottom of your post.
• You are expected to use sprites for your Pokemon and provide a reasonable amount of information about the team.
• Use the appropriate prefix for your team. We should have every necessary generation/metagame prefix available for you to use.

Guidelines

• The team should be a reliable, tested team. You should not post teams that you just created or thought up without testing them.
• The team should be intended for use in competitive Pokemon. You are not restricted to standard metagames, but don't expect much help if you're the only person who plays by your rules.
• Do not post teams from other sites' forums/archives that belong to someone else.
• We will be selecting the most effective and well presented teams to go onto the on site team archive. By posting your team here you consent to it being used in the archive.
• Use the proper thread prefix for the tier that your team is structured for. Make sure you adhere to all PO tier rules.
• If your thread is intended to be a Rate My Team (RMT) then put RMT somewhere in the thread title.
• The team should have at least 3 lines of description for each pokemon, mentioning things such as:
• One RMT per week per person. If you want more than this you will need to PM a mod for approval.

[secret]

• What role the pokemon does.
• Why did you choose the moveset.
• Why did you choose the EVs.
• Why did you choose the nature.
• What synergy it has with other pokemon.
• Any problems the pokemon has with other teams.

[/secret]

My thread got locked, what do I do?

• Read the post made by the moderator who locked the thread. They will have said what the problem was (unless another user pointed it out).
• If you want your thread to get unlocked, fix whatever problem caused the mod to lock it and PM the corrected thread to the moderator who locked it.

What not to do when posting

• Post things that don't contribute to the team. If you do so, you may recieve an infraction.
• Post things that are wrong.

Credit to Eric the Espeon and Eternal for parts of the guidelines.

Old guidelines can be found here, but are mostly outdated.
A good format to use can be found here. (Credit to Bazz)

 

How to Rate a Team

How to Rate a Team​

Many thanks go to: Reflect Suicune, Ashton Michaels, Samphire for producing this wonderful topic!

We encourage all users to offer ratings for teams. However, it is important to remember that the goal of rating a team is to actually improve it. Pointing out a problem without offering a solution leaves the user in the same position they were in before they read your post - nowhere. Rating a team is a demanding task, but practice is the best educator. Additionally, seeing where teams fail can improve your team building skills, as you will become more adept at picking out common issues. To make the most out of your rating, we recommend you always consider the following guidelines.


1) Analyze the Team
Once you have begun rating a team, there are a number of things to analyze. A team's biggest threat is not always a single Pokémon. Teams can also be weak to residual damage, when there are too many Stealth Rock weaknesses or too many grounded Pokémon that give Pokémon like Skarmory and Forretress free switch-ins. They can also lack a clear goal or win condition; or a team could be weak to certain defensive combinations and have a hard time breaking them.

In order to analyze these weaknesses effectively, list (mentally or on paper) all the issues you can find, so that you can determine and provide the most efficient solutions. Experience in the current metagame is valuable when trying to help a team, and as a team rater you have to make sure you know what is common and what is effective. Being knowledgeable and experienced in Pokémon increases your ability to help others.

2) Explain the Threats/Weaknesses
Never assume that what you are saying is self-explanatory. Remember that the user posted the team because they were not able to single out any weaknesses. Anything you say is probably going to be new information. Generally, you should specify in what way a Pokémon or battle feature is a threat to the original team. Providing the user with plenty of facts solidifies their understanding of the ratings they receive, and ensures they make the best decision possible.

3) Provide a Solution
Once you have identified all the flaws of the team, brainstorm the various solutions. Start with the simpler options first, it is often best to try and deviate as little as possible from the original team. While replacing Scizor with Blissey will solve a Starmie weakness, a bulky Scizor with Pursuit can check Starmie as well, while keeping closer to the original team. Make sure any changes you recommend continue to fit into the "spirit" of the team. For example, avoid suggesting a Pokémon like Tyranitar on a Drizzle team. Even if it patches up that electric weakness, it probably does more harm than good. Consider a Gastrodon or Celebi instead, as both Pokémon can handle electric-type Pokémon effectively. Any recommendations should also not open the user up to new, larger issues. If you do open the team up to a new, legitimate weakness, you should make a significant attempt to fix that new issue as well. If the team is desperately in need of having 3 or more of its Pokémon replaced, then it's hardly worth rating and the team should probably be made again from scratch.

Furthermore, when coming up with a solution, try to only pay notice to the threats and Pokémon used in the tier that the team is meant for. Also, when recommending a set, try to do it in a neat, concise way. Taking up multiple lines just to write out a set just stretches out your post unnecessarily and can make it annoying to read. For example, the following format can be used to suggest a set in a neat way:

Pokemon @ Item | Ability
Nature | EVs / EVs / EVs
Move1 / Move2 / Move3 / Move4

4) Back up your Solution
Again, never assume that what you are saying is self-explanatory. Even if it's something simple like "Magnezone can trap Steel-types, so the opponent’s team is open for a sweep with your dragons", try and always note how your recommended solution will help with the problem. On the same note, explain how the new EV spread or move changes help to remedy the weaknesses in the team. Providing the user with plenty of facts and arguments to convince them that your solutions are good, will make them a lot more likely to pay heed to your advice.

For an example covering the points above:
On a team containing Politoed, Dugtrio, Tornadus-T, Ferrothorn, Starmie and Terrakion, a rater noted that:

For the team, you have a large Electric weakness on paper, but it seems your team can handle all those assaults in the form of Dugtrio and Ferrothorn. For the most part, however:

1. Download Pokemon, such as Genesect and the Porygon family, will raise their Special Attack most of the time because you slapped the rest of the EV's in HP. My suggestion will be, move 4 EV's to Special Defense on Terrakion and Starmie to prevent those things from happening (Tornadus-T and Dugtrio have higher Special Defense rather than Defense).
2. Tornadus-T missed 4 EV's, and it should be placed anywhere (it's an option if you place it into HP, as Tornadus's Regenerator will mitigate the Stealth Rock problem other Stealth Rock-weak Pokémon have experienced).
3. Heat Wave on a rain team is somewhat iffy on Tornadus-T. Replace it with something else, like a Hidden Power [Grass] or something like that.

Other than that, great team!
​

Here we can see that the rater has labelled the weaknesses of the team clearly, and in order of significance. Examples have been given of Pokémon threats (they have also been bolded for easy reference) and how this will affect the team. Solid advice of EV placement and how it can be useful has also been given, alongside an explained move change on Tornadus. The person receiving this rating cannot be left in the dark about the various flaws with the explanations given and the criticisms and remedies are clear and concise. The rater has also offered encouragement at the end. Although not expected, a bit of nicety can often go a long way after receiving criticism.