***FOR THE THREAD MAKERS***
In summary:
- Before posting make sure your team is finished.
- Do not post threads for single Pokemon.
- Properly format your post.
- Don't PM moderators about thread approval.
- Use images if possible
- Test your team before posting it.
- Be open / take advice.
- State what rules you're playing under.
- Don't restrict yourself to one battling medium.
1. Finish your team before posting it.
What this means is that your team MUST consist of 6 Pokemon with Items, Abilities, Natures, EV Spreads, and 4 Moves. It is also a very good idea to play test your team before you post your RMT.
In the event that you are posting a team for use in the Official Nintendo Random Wi-Fi Metagame, then you can post a team consist of three Pokemon, but you must state in your opening post what metagame this team will be used for.
In the event that you are posting a team for the Video Game Championships, then you can post a team consist of four Pokemon, but you must state in your opening post what metagame this team will be used for.
In the event that you are posting a team for use in the Official Nintendo Random Wi-Fi Metagame, then you can post a team consist of three Pokemon, but you must state in your opening post what metagame this team will be used for.
In the event that you are posting a team for the Video Game Championships, then you can post a team consist of four Pokemon, but you must state in your opening post what metagame this team will be used for.
2. Do not post threads for single Pokemon, questions, or discussion.
This cannot be stressed enough. This section is for the rating of completed teams. For a single Pokemon rate use the Competitive Singles Rate Thread. For help with competitive Pokemon in general use the Ask a Question Thread. For discussion of the metagame and competitive Pokemon in general use the Competitive Discussion Section.
3. Your team must be formatted properly. You also need to explain IN DETAIL why you have chosen a certain Pokemon.
The better your post looks, the more likely you are to get a good rate. Also, before you post RMT thread, have some actual words to say instead of one line descriptions that give raters no information. Team Raters are not mind readers, in order for them to give you a proper rate they need to understand your thinking. For each Pokemon on your team, you need to explain why you selected it, its role, and what it helps you achieve. This should be a few sentences, single words are not allowed..
Follow this format when posting your team for ALL POKEMON:
Pokemon 1 @ Item
Ability:
EVs:
Nature:
- move
- move
- move
- move
*Detailed description of the Pokemon's purpose to the team*
An example of a description we look for:
Here is what we don't want, and will likely get your thread locked:
Follow this format when posting your team for ALL POKEMON:
Pokemon 1 @ Item
Ability:
EVs:
Nature:
- move
- move
- move
- move
*Detailed description of the Pokemon's purpose to the team*
An example of a description we look for:
Jirachi @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 SpD / 176 Spe
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SpA)
-Iron Head
-Thunder Wave
-Fire Punch
-Stealth Rock
Thunder Wave Jirachi, as a lead, has been successful for my team. The purpose of Jirachi is to get Stealth Rocks up, and once that's done, Pokemon such as Gyarados, Dragonite, or DD Babari Berry Tyranitar that switch in to try and set up on my lead are immediately rendered useless thanks to Thunder Wave. My game plan is to set up Stealth Rock first, and then Thunder Wave to scout my opponent's team/cripple any sweeper hoping to use Jirachi as set up bait. With Choice Scarf being popular on lead sets, I decided to take advantage of its popularity, and it has paid off in every game I have been in.
Jirachi has been EVed to top Lucario in speed and use Fire Punch, or at the very least stop him completely with Thunder Wave. Sometimes, getting a burn hax via Fire Punch helps, but as I can't KO Lucario with it, I tend to play it safe with T-Wave in most games. Either method is fine as Lucario remains crippled at the end of the day.
Here is what we don't want, and will likely get your thread locked:
Infernape @ Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Nature: Naive
-Stealth Rock
-Close Combat
-Fake Out
-Fire Blast
Standard lead, sets up rocks and breaks sash for my opponent.
4. Don't PM moderators about thread approval.
We have systems in place which shows us new threads added to the moderation queue and we patrol the forums regularly. So once we see a thread added to the queue, we evaluate it in a timely manner andthen make the decision to approve or deny it. If it's not appearing after a week9, then it was not approved as it didn't follow any of the rules in this section. When this happens, you can make changes to the post so it obeys the forum rules and resubmit the team, but if it still breaks the rules you will have to repeat the process as we'll deny it. Refer to part 3 of the rules (section titled:"3. Your team must be formatted properly. You also need to explain IN DETAIL why you have chosen a certain Pokemon.") to get an idea of what we are looking for.
5. Use pictures if possible.
While not required, posting a nice picture of the Pokemon on your team makes it much easier to read, which also makes it easier to rate. However, any image of a Pokemon that is unreasonably large will get removed from the opening post. Re-adding it will net you an infraction. Don't post large images, especially ones that stretch the page.
6. Test your team before posting it.
Before posting your team, it's normally a good idea to test the team and see how it functions / plays before putting up for review. This way you can get a good idea of what kind of threats give you the most trouble. Posting a team that gets completely ravaged by any of the top 10 Pokemon is a clear indication that you never actually went through the testing phase.
7. Be open to advice.
This forum is more than just show and tell. By refusing to take any advice from raters, you are saying your team is perfect and doesn't need any improvements. Well, sorry to say no team is perfect, and your thread is pointless if you won't take any advice. Anyone caught ignoring most suggestions in their thread will get infracted and their thread locked. Of course, if someone posts bad advice, they will get dealt with.
8. State what rules you're playing under.
Serebii plays under Smogon's standard ruleset. However, if you're playing under a specific set of rules / restrictions, whether it be for another battling community or a tournament, then it's a good idea to state that in the first paragraph of your post so raters don't walk in and potentially look foolish in whatever rate they post.
9. Don't restrict yourself to one battling medium.
Wi-Fi is fun and all (well, used to be), but that isn't seen as a competitive environment, compared to simulator play such as Pokemon Online or Pokemon Showdown. Don't restrict yourself to Wi-Fi, instead, try playing on the simulators I mentioned and I guarantee you that it'll be a more competitive environment.
Failure to comply with these rules will get your thread locked. Continually breaking these rules will earn you a "Disobeying the Rules of a specific sub-forum" infraction.
If your thread is locked, you can have your thread unlocked providing you acknowledge the rules and PM a moderator with your thread changes. If they seem fine, the moderator will unlock your thread and edit in the changes to your first post. You can though repost your team with these changes but it is recommended to PM a moderator to see if anything else is wrong.
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