>>35070979If this is bait, I'm taking it.
There's this group of people called Smogon that plays competitive pokémon using a different set of rules than any official competitive format. For example, they allow Mew, but not Mega Blaziken; they allow for Greninjas with Battle Bond, but not Bidoofs with Moody. (This is because Moody can lead to luck-based bullshit, which smogonfags don't like - for good reason, of course.)
By Smogon's rules, pokémon are sorted into tiers. The "standard" tier is called OverUsed, or OU. Pokémon that are used often enough in OU are excluded from the next lower tier, UnderUsed. Similarly, 'mons that are popular in UU are excluded from the next tier down, RarelyUsed.
If you want to actually go to in-person, Nintendo-approved tournaments, you won't be playing by Smogon's rules. However, a lot of people play by them unofficially, so the decisions made by Smogon players actually do carry some weight.
2. If you want to be a virgin Smogonfag, check their website. If you want to be a chad VGCfag who can actually play at Nintendo-approved tournaments, try TrainerTower, for lack of a better option.
Keep Bulbapedo or Serebii open in the other tab for whenever you encounter something you aren't familiar with.
3. Totally. Any format will ban something - but Smogon and VGC rules are different.
4. Don't think so, but look up Pokémon Showdown. It's what almost everyone else uses.
Final note: Don't expect to be good at it. There are quadrillions of possible teams you can make even neglecting items, abilities, EVs, and movesets. Even if you just borrow someone else's team, you'll still have plenty to learn. And your reward for learning will come slowly - Pokémon is heavily influenced by random stupid bullshit like missing, flinching, and variability in damage. It's all kinda nuts. Don't feel too obliged to join.
