People are on the general consensus on 10 slots and in all honesty, I'm all for that as well. More categories mean more unique and expansive ideas thrown into the mix. As a more recent but intruiged ADV Lower Tiers player, I feel more slots and thus more competition between different tiers allow for more players to gain notoriety in the community. This should also allow for a greater general expansion into new, more popular players/creators, which would help to increase the general ADVsphere.
Through patterns and further discussions: OU should maintain it's 3 Spots given it's the most popular format and arguably being the most popular OU outside current Gen, Ubers is guarenteed, likewise with UU (albeit maybe at 1 slot rather than it's former 2) and NU as they're both still relatively popular as old gen metagames.
Other tiers that are likely if not also assured of being added are PU and DOU. PU has a relatively strong history amongst it even with the tier being how it is. There's still an increased demand for PU to be played, with a recent Viability Rankings to reflect that fact. Doubles OU has featured in ADVPL III and it's maintained solid popularity throughout the community, so I don't see any trouble with it remaining.
This leaves us with the following likely candidates of RU, ZU and LC. This next section will be my assessment of the Pros and Cons to each respective tier, and why they should/shouldn't be added.
RU - Pros and Cons
Positive: ADV RU is a fresh tier on peoples minds having the recent introduction of it's RoA Spotlight this January. With the tier being fresh on people's minds, it allows the maintain that momentum that people already have solid usage for and there's foundations there from other individuals who may wish to represent themselves in this tier.
Positive: ADV RU looks exciting and has massive amounts of potential if done correctly, and it has the visibility to shine the lights on a huge variety of Pokemon that are stuck between the UU/NU purgatory.
Negative: Whilst RU is a fresh tier, it almost feels too soon to add a tier much like with Rarely Used due to it's recent induction (From what I've looked at online it was introduced August last year compared to ZU's introduction in 2019 and LC in 2014).
Negative: One of ADV RU's biggest fundamental issues is it doesn't have the sustainability compared to ADV ZU & LC. This is partly due to it being considered more as an "alternate metagame" or a simple sandwich between ADV UU and NU, which are both more distinguished in history and general notority.
ZU - Pros and Cons
Positive: Whilst I had mentioned previously that ADV RU is a fresh tier, the current meta (unfreeze) is a lot more recently established comparatively to ADV RU. This should allow for greater possible tricks and experimentation which would make for these games to be more competitive to the average spectator.
Positive: The ADV ZU community is probably some of the most dedicated group of people I have came across in recent memory (I'm practically patting myself on the back here but that's besides the point), and it's overall the most active Old Gens ZU in terms of the amount of participants listed on Olympiad (some of it's partially due to the recent RoA Tour but it still is accounted for here)
Negative: Despite the charm ZU offers, one might argue that the tier feels a little "too low of a power level" as a result of there being 4 (arguably 5) tiers worth of Pokemon above it. This could also turn people away as a small portion of the community wouldn't like the idea of advertising a lower power level of community.
Negative: ZU is still technically not an "official" metagame with the ongoing drama that had took place towards the end of Generation 8 (2022), and advertising as such would be somewhat contradictory in terms of setting out what are real and fake metagames.
LC - Pros and Cons
Positive: LC offers a unique twist comparatively to the other tiers on this list. Being a tier restricted to level 5 movesets and individual LC Pokemon, it allows for a different playstyle that no other tier would be able to replicate
Positive: ADV LC is much more deeprooted into Smogon History with first word of mention being roughly 2014-15. This makes LC more than old enough as a metagame to have been established, and with it's recent attraction backed up by this history, it brings it all together for a pronounced tier begging for competitive spotlight.
Negative: Whilst there is a charm to such tiers, LC amongst older generations is snubbed primary for more "prestigous" tiers (such as more OU/UU slots). This could also be argued against ZU
Negative: Whilst it might be a unique metagame, some might argue the concept of "Gen"PL was for level 100 all out Pokemon to be viewed in this grand spectacle, and level 5 Pokemon only contradicts the fundamental idea of competitive Pokemon.
My Opinion:
[Don't mind the Positive/Negative Comments btw, this is primary to bring further discussion and it doesn't mean I agree with such opinions]
With everything that has been evaluated, here is what I would propose for ADV IV and how in my opinion would fit best:
- 3x OU
- 1x Ubers
- 1x UU
- 1x NU
- 1x PU
- 1x ZU
- 1x LC
- 1x DOU
Whilst RU is a generally enjoyable tier, and there's an ever-increasing player base for it, I don't think there has been enough time within ADV RU to really jump into it's spot as part of ADVPL IV. The tier isn't quite adjusted with sets or a supported builder to justify the existence of RU for a Premier League Spot, and tiers such as ZU and LC not only have a greater established presence, they've had more increased demand for such tiers, with ADV ZU as a notable example having the most signups compared to any other Old Gen for ZU Olympiad. LC also featured a prize pool tour, something that neither ZU nor RU have bolstered for itself, as well as LC being very much a unique format overall through it's concept as opposed to the standard level 100 stuff.
Of course, there is other stuff I didn't mention here, notably: A 2nd UU/Ubers Slot, a UUBL slot, Monotype, a 4th OU Slot, SU, DUU, etc. And whilst there's some more concrete and less concrete arguments in terms of having stuff added for ADVPL, this is ultimately the best idea going forward in terms of scheduling and I'm hoping that there is enough overall spotlight for such Lower Tiers!
I appreciate everyone for tuning in to this essay/deep dive (1.1k Words), competitive Pokemon should be about expressing positivity among the community, and every tier no matter how big or small should get it's representation in some way or another. It simply comes down to the overall popularity and hype amongst these tiers and within every positively recieved comment, there are dedicated communities out there who too would strive to give their tier some recognition.
Stay blessed!