Super Staff Bros: Ultimate

By dhelmise. Released: 2024/05/04.
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Super Staff Bros Ultimate

Art by ausma.

EVERYONE IS HERE!

The wait is over! After a year of work, Super Staff Bros (SSB) takes over Generation 9 as Super Staff Bros: Ultimate! If this is your first introduction to SSB or you're a diehard fan waiting to see what's changed, this article will cover all you need to know about this new iteration of SSB, from the basics to the most niche details of each set in the format.

What is Super Staff Bros?

Super Staff Bros is a ladder format that provides players with randomized teams made up of sets created by the staff team on Pokémon Showdown!. That's not all, though; the fun aspect of SSB comes into play with the various quirks each set provides. Namely, every set has a custom move, some sets have custom abilities and items, and some even have extra effects called innate abilities! Innate abilities are provided sparingly, to preserve balance, but every Pokémon will have a custom move. These moves can do some pretty silly things that you'd likely never see in a standard Pokémon battle, such as a move that will double in power and remove the target's Terastallization if they're Terastallized; a move that will let you sacrifice a teammate for up to +3 Attack, Special Attack, and Speed; and even a move that changes into a super effective type against the foe every time it's used! Every set is named after the staff member that created it, and that staff member will post messages every time their set switches in, switches out, or gets KOed. Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves are also included in SSB with no limitation, meaning that you can have two Pokémon that Mega Evolve in a team or two Pokémon with Z-Crystals, and you can use them both! Other than that, these are just typical Pokémon battles. The first player to KO their opponent's team wins!

What changed from Super Staff Bros 4?

We really wanted to figure out a way to match the changes between Super Staff Bros Brawl and Super Staff Bros 4 when making Super Staff Bros: Ultimate, since including Terastallization seemed like a shoe-in regardless. As a result, we prevented staff members from reusing their sets from previous iterations again. On top of that, we removed the entry limit from previous iterations. Now, instead of a capped roster of 120 sets, we currently have 151 sets and will likely add more!

The Roster

There are 151 different Pokémon this generation, each representing a staff member. Each set is unique and has its own quirks that you will want to read about if you want to be the very best in Super Staff Bros: Ultimate. To help with that, I will provide you with the Super Staff Bros: Ultimate roster! Click on a staff member's Pokémon to see all the details about that set. Alternatively, you can type /ssb [staff member's name] in a battle to see their set as well!

Choose your Fighter!

Special Thanks

Creating Super Staff Bros formats is a massive amount of work, and it cannot be accomplished alone. As the project leader and lead developer for Super Staff Bros 4 and Super Staff Bros Ultimate, I know this very well. HiZo and I were truly tested this time around as well, as we started working on this iteration of SSB back in early 2023 and had so much on our plates to the point where it took the team until April 2024 to finish things up! I want to thank everyone below who has spent the past year working hard to make Super Staff Bros: Ultimate a reality!

Ready for the next battle?

Regardless of if you're a newbie to SSB and looking to get into your first match or you're an SSB veteran excited to start the new generation properly, I hope that I have given you the foundation you need to have success in Super Staff Bros: Ultimate. The ladder awaits you, and if you ever get confused, you can always return to this article through the link posted at the start of every SSB battle or through the link on /tier ssb. You can also get information on a specific Pokémon through using /ssb [staff member's name], or by utilizing the tooltips in battle. I hope this has been helpful, and I can't wait to see you out there!

HTML by dhelmise and HoeenHero | Some CSS by Zarel.
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