In The Shadows of Giants [An Intro to Little Cup]

[AuthorReborn]

Everyone knows the common Smogon tiers. You've got Ubers for Mega Kangaskhan and Xerneas spam. There's OU for Mega Lopunny, Smogon Bird #1 Talonflame, and Lando-T. UU is where some pretty insane megas crippled by one stat or another lie (Mega Amphy lacks speed, Mega Beedrill can be taken down by a gentle breeze, and Mega Aero...actually this thing is just kinda weak to certain priority moves. Otherwise it'd destroy all of OU). RU is the tier that no one plays, where Pokemon that are bad in UU and too good for NU go to die. And NU is everything that the above didn't wanted and PU and FU are just little off-shoots of NU that are based on Viability Rankings kinda like the BL Pokemon are.

But below even FU and PU, there's another tier.

A tier unlike any other.

Introducing....LITTLE CUP (LC)!

Part One: Know The Rules and Know The Bans

Little Cup is a strange place to play. If you don't know what it is, let me run over the basics of it:

• Only Pokemon that can evolve at least once and are in their lowest evolutionary forms can be used.

Example: Charmander is fine, but Charmeleon and Charizard are outlawed.

• All Pokemon must be at level 5 to participate in LC battles. As such, any moves that cannot be passed down via breeding, obtained via Move Tutor or TM (or learned via level up by level 5) cannot be used.

This can and will negatively impact some Pokemon. A good example of this fact is Golett. Golett has the ability Iron Fist, which boosts all punching moves. It also learns Shadow Punch at level 13, which is STAB, never misses and is boosted by Iron Fist. Talk about a Win-Win. But since it cannot be bred on, obtained via TM, or otherwise obtained by level 5, Golett cannot use Shadow Punch and this greatly impacts its usability and power.

• Any Pokemon on the LC Ubers list cannot be used. This pertains to the following Pokemon: Gligar, Scyther, sad Vinny incoming Sneasel, Tangela, Yanma, Meditite, Murkrow, and Misdreavus.

The reasons behind some of these bans are pretty self explanatory. Gligar is viable in UU, you won't be having all that bulk down in LC. Scyther has the same BST as Scizor. Sneasel is too damn fast. It outspeeds nearly the entire tier uninvested. Add that to a STAB Knock Off and you have yourself a nice little ban. Tangela has crazy bulk, Yanma has Speed Boost and already rather high speed and quite respectable Special Attack. Meditite: Pure Power. Murkow: Prankster+High Stats+Roost=Ban. Misdreavus has Nasty Plot and all sorts of extra utility. Plus, NP, Shadow Ball, and Thunderbolt hits nearly everything for at least neutral damage except Deino off the top of my head but Deino is terrible don't use him.

• A Pokemon may not use any of the following moves: OHKO Moves, Dragon Rage it would literally OKHO every pokemon in LC bar Fairies, Sonicboom, and Swagger.

Part 2: The Strange Bits

Some of you probably read through the above and thought to yourselves, "Well, it's a little different, but not too strange," but you'd be wrong in thinking that. Any way you dice it, LC is a strange and unique tier, even for experienced pokemon players. There are no megas, most pokemon which will become powerhouses are generally bad in Little Cup due to them requiring a lot of growth yet, and a lot of the items which are vital to every other tier of competitive play are useless in LC. Yep, you read that right. Ditch whatever notions you had about items because most of them are probably wrong. Here's a small list of items to change your views in for getting into Little Cup:

Items from other tiers that you should never use-
Leftovers, Black Sludge, Choice Band, Choice Specs

Reasons- Leftorvers/Black Sludge are great in other tiers, but in LC you only get a few health back per turn with them equipped, which is a complete waste of your item slot when you could have Eviolite. Specs and Bands are outclassed by Life Orb (see below).

Probably don't use because of better options, although still okay in some cases-
Rocky Helmet

Reasons- Generally Eviolite works far better than Rocky Helmet as it will give you another chance to actually attack, but I have seen Rocky Helmet used properly once or twice. Although bear in mind that's only once or twice when I've been playing LC since XY, so don't expect it to be the very best item in all cases.

Don't use in any tier-
Bright Powder, Quick Claw, Shell Bell

Reasons- The first two rely on Lady Luck not hating you at any given moment and Shell Bell is an inferior version of Leftovers which shouldn't be used in LC anyway.

Little Cup doesn't use most of the items common in other tiers. Instead, there about generally about four or five items that are distributed to your pokemon, which will be listed in order of popularity.

1. Eviolite- Honestly, there is little to no reason not to throw Eviolite on most pokemon in LC because literally everyone can use it and it allows many pokemon to survive hits they'd otherwise fall to quite quickly.
2. Life Orb- For the most offensive little monster, Life Orb is still quite viable and it gives a nice boost while allowing you to choose a move every turn. Also, because of the low HP values, Life Orb damage does not actually work the same way it does elsewhere and it takes off an extremely low portion of your health.
3. Berry Juice or Oran Berries if you're Hilda- A lot of LC pokemon are just Bulky enough to handle taking one hit or they have Sturdy. For such Pokemon, Berry Juice exists. Berry Juice is a hold item your pokemon can use on themselves which allows for the Pokemon to then heal exactly 20 HP. It's abysmal in other tiers, but when everyone is level five, a lot of pokemon will be able to reap the benefits of this item.
4. Choice Scarf- Sometimes you just gutta goo fust and a fashionable Scarf is always there to help with that. It pretty much works the same as usual and is the only one of the choice items to do so as the Band and Specs are completely outclassed by Life Orb. Out of these five items, scarves will likely be used the least on each team but there is generally one on each team for revenge killing so be careful.
5. Focus Sash- Babies are fragile creatures and a lot of PokeBabies follow this rule. They will die easily and need a lot of help to do their jobs and Focus Sash can be that nice little +1 Turn boost some need to survive. Expect a Sash on Diglett and Abra when you encounter them due to their nonexsistent bulk

Conclusion

That's basically all I have to say about Little Cup for now off the top of my head. I will add to this list as more occurs to me and/or as people remind me of bits that I forgot to mention. I hope you learned a thing or two and go out and win!

[Tomas Elliot]

Little Cup ladder is so screwed up right now, at least in the low ladder. Waaaaay too many people try to use the most gimmicky sets possible to try and win. I just fought a battle where a guy tried to BP everything to a magikarp to sweep me, but lost to my Staryu which had been tricked a Lagging Tail. I second the idea to encourage legitimately competent battlers to play Little Cup as its current ladder is half comprised of complete imbeciles. I'm no spectacular battler myself, but I can be pretty good sometimes. That being said, I shouldn't be able to win every match I have in a tier with little to no effort required. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Well, you have done it. Between this post in that other topic and the very clever things you have said in this one, now I really want to try LC. I hope we will be able to meet on the server in the near future so you can help me build a team and test it

[Chase]

If you aren't a SCRUB you use Oran Berries over Berry Juice...

JS....

(Nice Guide, AR~)

[Deleted User]

If you aren't a SCRUB you use Oran Berries over Berry Juice...

JS....

(Nice Guide, AR~)

You also don't use Belly Drum, with said Berry Juice you won't be using.

[Shadow Tack]

If you aren't a SCRUB you use Oran Berries over Berry Juice...

JS....

(Nice Guide, AR~)

You also don't use Belly Drum, with said Berry Juice you won't be using.

I love you guys too!