PU: The Making Of

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Introduction

PU: Perfectly Useless, Piddlingly Used, Particularly Underwhelming, Painfully Uninspiring, Penguin Umbrella—the name doesn't matter (since it is a pun anyway). PU has been regarded as the not-quite-official tier that houses NU's rejects. That was until a couple of weeks ago, when it was announced that PU would become an official tier. That means PU is more than just some bad smell lurking in the depths of ORAS; it's now an official metagame in its own right. I interviewed PU co-leaders galbia and Magnemite in regards to PU's history and their involvement in it, as well as some of PU's best players, discovering what made PU the one for them, as well as their own tips for succeeding in PU!

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galbia

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Magnemite

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What made some of PU's best players fall for PU?

trc

Well, me and a bunch of other people such as galbia, Robert Alfons, scorpdestroyer, CyclicCompound, and Magnemite were all in a social channel on IRC that I think stemmed from the initial XY RU community (me and Magnemite actually started off doing things in OU but then moved to RU when it came out and met people like galbia and Robert Alfons), and I think it was about a few months later after NU had obviously happened that the initial XY PU thread had started, so I went and had a look at it and I thought it would be a fun meta but didn't have enough people, so I kind of tried to get a lot of people to play it. It was sort of like we had a tier we could innovate in and use fun stuff just for fun games, if that makes sense. I told Magnemite and we both started posting and contributing, and we got on the initial council (me first though, hue), and ever since then we've both posted and tried to get more people to play. galbia and Robert Alfons were already building and playing fun games themselves, and then the community sort of grew from there.

Anty

When I was a newer user, I enjoyed using Pokémon I liked despite not being the most competitively appealing (for example Wormadam), which led me to getting involved in PU in BW. Over a year later, after I had gotten more experience in Smogon and became a better player, I saw the XY PU thread and felt like I should try it out after remembering fond memories of BW PU. After that, I hopped onto #pu on IRC, talked to some of the council members, built a team, and started playing. I found the tier very fun to play, not just because 'unloved' Pokémon like Kricketune and Victreebel were viable, but also because the metagame itself was quite balanced and there were so many unexplored things. The community was also amazing; even when there weren't many players, I still had a lot of fun with galbia, Magnemite, and everyone.

Megazard

I got into PU when I was really really new and was still experimenting. I think I stuck around because larger rooms like OU just didn't have anywhere to go. It was a smaller, nicer community that I could learn not to be *as much of* a shitty poster in. I still think this applies today, as there's been a noticeable lack of drama throughout a fairly unstable time period. As far as the actual tier itself goes, it's just in general really fun; even the stuff we banned didn't make the meta genuinely dislikable other than Musharna. I could enjoy things like Garbodor that would be on at least 70% of all good teams. It's always felt like a fun tier; the worst we had was not getting drops to shake things up to be honest. It's easy to stay and enjoy the meta and build four teams in a row when you're supposed to be studying.

2xTheTap

There have been multiple factors leading me to select PU as my main tier in ORAS. I normally prefer to play lower tiers; I mostly played UU and NU during older gens, so I find Pokémon from these tiers with lower BST or flaws that prevent them from rising to higher tiers to be more interesting to play with overall. OU felt a bit monotonous when I first jumped into XY, so I moved to the bottom right away and focused on NU instead. While the NU metagame itself was interesting, NU didn't quite have the ideal community that I was searching for; its player base was large enough that I wasn't really noticed, even despite playing for months and still being the caliber of player that I am currently. After becoming disinterested in NU, but still wanting to use Pokémon with low usage overall, I was led to find PU. For me, it was by far the most accessible tier, as it wasn't excessively cliquish like some of the other tiers were at the time. Given its smaller player base, the PU staff was able to give me more individualized attention, which allowed me to quickly integrate myself into this smaller, yet more tightly knit community.

Raiza

Before starting to play PU, I was on hiatus, so I was looking for some fresh and fun tier to play that could also introduce me better to the forums. PU just embodies all of that. Despite not being an official tier at the time, PU was and currently is very active on both the forums and PS!, the staff members were nice and helpful when I started, and I enjoyed myself quite a lot playing the tier. PU is a tier in which form and metagame trends always change because of tier shifts and the number of viable Pokémon out there you can use, so it felt to me like playing a new game compared to something such as OU, which I already invested a lot of time into. So I started to put effort into the tier and slowly understood better its other sides and characteristics, which gave me even more motivation to keep playing.

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PU Tips 'n Tricks

Provided by some of PU's best players, Raiza, 2xTheTap, Megazard, Anty, and trc.

• Lurking the PU forum can be extremely useful to players that are just approaching the tier. A lot of projects are getting hosted right now, which can help you understand better metagame trends and builds. By just looking at posts in the Viability Rankings and np threads, you can get a quick catch on the tier, while there are a lot of threads made to specifically help newer players, such as Sample Teams, Role Compendium, and Speed Tiers. —Raiza
• Once they've gotten a cursory view of PU, I suggest jumping right into the ladder with a sample team or something built specifically for that player from our teambuilding shop. Laddering is an effective teaching tool, because not only will the player pick up effective strategies from time to time, but by battling with well-made teams built by more established players, they can also more fully learn the capabilities of each Pokémon and why they're good. —2xTheTap
• Don't try so hard to innovate—it's the lowest tier, sure, but using tons of shitmons because you're cool and not playing OU is overdone and likely won't get anywhere. Run new sets, a lesser used mon or two, but don't build a team with Meditite, Hoppip, and Ariados. New sets are way easier to innovate than new Pokémon. Pokémon get a lot of random moves that I always scroll through in teambuilder and sometimes things like Yawn Stunfisk become a hit. —Megazard
• Don't be afraid to ask questions in the PU PS! room or anywhere else; we are more than happy to tell you why certain Pokémon aren't viable, to rate teams, etc. —Anty

• I'd simply recommend hanging out in the PU chat and lurking the forums, like I did so often in the past. This is by far the easiest way to pick up tips from already established players who understand the tier well. —2xTheTap
• To get started, I would suggest to just use pretty standard teams, try simple offensive cores such as Monferno + Exeggutor + Floatzel, and try to just learn on the ladder the way to beat certain threats, and then you will be able to build a lot more effectively for a number of different team goals. —trc
• Before you start suggesting random Pokémon that aren't used, because you like them, lurk a bit. PU isn't just for bad Pokémon that don't fit into other tiers; if a Pokémon isn't used it is probably for a good reason. —Anty
• I always advocate that newer players make their start in PU by gaining an overview of the tier from the Viability Rankings thread. While the information provided is somewhat fluid in nature and often changes to accommodate newer metagame trends, this is a great base point for teaching newer players what are meta-defining threats and, by contrast, which Pokémon are outclassed and therefore not worth using on competitive teams. —2xTheTap
• Read the PU forum please; we have way too many projects, all of which provide tons of cool things for you to experiment with or get teams off of. Also resist Berries are the best things to run; people who say that's not innovation are just haters :I. Learn what's good in the tier. PU has a lot of shitty teams out there. Don't get confused and think that Cotton Guard Jumpluff or Choice Band Avalugg is good because you faced someone with them on ladder or in a room tour. —Megazard
• Giving a look to the strategy Pokédex can be really helpful, both in battle if you don't know what sets a Pokémon usually runs and to execute strategies focused on a specific Pokémon, and outside of battles to help you build a proper team. —Raiza
• Ask the room staff about Pokémon, what they do, and how good they are, and check the viability rankings. If you talk about something and someone says that it isn't viable, don't just argue about it. There are lot of Pokémon in PU, and some people think that because it is the lowest tier, everything is viable, which isn't true, so just check the resources on the forums and it will help you to build better teams. —trc
• PU has many resources (viability rankings for example), and they are very helpful when building teams or learning the metagame. Of these, the tutoring program is a particularly helpful one for new users, as you can join with no metagame knowledge whatsoever and learn the tier. —Anty
• Tutoring programs exist for players who may be struggling to get a firm grasp on the meta, so there are multiple avenues that a nascent player can take to improve his or her skill in battling, teambuilding, and overall meta knowledge. —2xTheTap
• Be active on the PS! PU room; a lot of discussion is also held there, and the online staff will help you out if you have a doubt on something. Joining room tours can be beneficial, as you have the chance to battle against veteran players and study their play. —Raiza

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