Clauses and Banlists

The tiering process of Smogon has come a long way from the simple days of RBY and many bans are now somewhat more complex than they were in previous generations. This page serves to document the precise definitions of all rules and lists the bans used in standard play. Below is the full list of every BW tier and its specific banlist.

Clause Definitions

The clauses below apply to all BW tiers except Challenge Cup, which has no clauses, and some for Ubers.

  • Species Clause - A player cannot have two Pokemon with the same National Pokédex number on a team.
    • For example, using a team with two Koffing would break this clause.
    • Using different formes on the same team, such as Rotom-W and Rotom-C, also breaks the clause since they share the same Pokédex number (#479).
    • This rule was implemented for BW tiers following a Policy Review vote on October 30, 2010.
  • Sleep Clause - You lose if, at the end of your turn, two of your opponent's Pokemon were put to sleep by a move you used but were not forced into, and neither have had their sleep removed since then.
    • The clause basically means that if you have already put a Pokemon on your opponent's side to sleep and it is still sleeping, you can't put another one to sleep.
    • A move you were "forced into" is a move you must use because all other moves (that cannot inflict sleep) are disabled (by Choice item, Encore, or some combination of Taunt, Disable, Torment, and lack of PP) and you cannot switch (due to trapping moves, trapping abilities, Ingrain, or having all other Pokemon be fainted).
    • A move you used includes moves called by Metronome, Sleep Talk, Assist, Me First, or Copycat. It does not include Magic Coat or Magic Bounce.
    • Rest, used by either player, is never counted by this clause.
    • The definition of this rule was debated on in a Policy Review discussion.
    • This rule was implemented for BW tiers following a Policy Review vote on October 30, 2010.
  • Evasion Clause - A Pokemon may not have the moves Double Team or Minimize in its moveset.
    • Generally, this rule will be automatically enforced in simulator play. In Wi-Fi play, a player is considered to have broken the clause when a Pokemon is revealed to have been brought into the battle with a banned move.
    • This rule was implemented for BW tiers following a Policy Review vote on October 30, 2010.
    • This rule does not apply to BW Ubers following a Policy Review vote on December 21, 2012.
  • OHKO Clause - A Pokemon may not have the moves Fissure, Guillotine, Horn Drill, or Sheer Cold in its moveset.
    • Generally, this rule will be automatically enforced in simulator play. In Wi-Fi play, a player is considered to have broken the clause when a Pokemon is revealed to have been brought into the battle with a banned move.
    • This rule was implemented for BW tiers following a Policy Review vote on October 30, 2010.
  • Moody Clause - A team cannot have a Pokemon with the ability Moody.
    • This rule was implemented for BW tiers by acclamation on June 7, 2011.

Banlists

Uber

  • Everything that is not covered by a metagame-wide clause is allowed in the Uber tier.

OU

  • Banned Pokemon - A team cannot have any of the Pokemon found in the following tiers: Ubers.
  • Banned Abilities - A team cannot have a Pokemon with any of the following abilities: Sand Veil and Snow Cloak.
  • Banned Items - A team cannot have the Pokemon Latias or Latios with the hold item Soul Dew on their team.
  • Drizzle + Swift Swim - Using both a Pokemon with Drizzle and a Pokemon with Swift Swim on the same team is banned.

UU

  • Banned Pokemon - A team cannot have any of the Pokemon found in the following tiers: BL, OU, and Ubers.
  • Banned Abilities - A team cannot have a Pokemon with any of the following abilities: Drought, Sand Stream, Sand Veil, and Snow Cloak.
  • Drizzle + Swift Swim - Using both a Pokemon with Drizzle and a Pokemon with Swift Swim on the same team is banned.

RU

NU

  • Banned Pokemon - A team cannot have any of the Pokemon found in the following tiers: BL3, RU, BL2, UU, BL, OU, and Ubers.
  • Banned Abilities - A team cannot have a Pokemon with any of the following abilities: Drought, Sand Stream, Sand Veil, and Snow Cloak.
  • Shell Smash + Baton Pass - Using a Pokemon carrying both Shell Smash and Baton Pass in its moveset is banned.
  • Drizzle + Swift Swim - Using both a Pokemon with Drizzle and a Pokemon with Swift Swim on the same team is banned.

Little Cup

The Little Cup rules are here. Little Cup is not a tier below NU; rather, it is standalone entity.