Thanks for the sticky!
I thought I'd kick off the Wi-Fi Battling and Trading section with some of the more common rules found in people who battle via Wi-Fi.
Generally, in almost any Pokemon community where people battle, a standard battle follows these rules:
Overused: This means any Pokemon in the Overused tier or anything below it can be used. Most communities tend to conform to Smogon's tier list because the battling community on most sites is relatively small. PP is currently using Smogon's tier list and rules, and we're running battles on Shoddy. We will be modifying tiers and/or rules as PP sees fit, if necessary.
You can see a complete list of Smogon's tiers and where a Pokemon lies here.
A very BRIEF explanation clarifying what each tier is:
Uber: These are deemed the centralizing Pokemon in the game. It's a "ban" list for everything else, and the tier is basically unstable. The only requirement to be "Uber" isn't based on pwoer, but based on overcentralizing the competitive game.
Overused: The most used Pokemon and often the most powerful. They're usually able to run diverse sets that fill several roles. Some Pokemon might fluctuate in and out of this tier, but there's a way to prevent an OU Pokemon to fall too low just because of low usage.
BL: I don't know exactly what "BL" stands for, but it's essentially a "ban list" for the lower tiers. No matter HOW low usage of certain OU Pokemon go, this tier kind of assures that they won't fall to Underused and destroy it. It's not really a tier because you can't have a "BL" match. They compete in the OU environment, but usually aren't as reliable.
Underused: The least used Pokemon. These Pokemon tend to have lower stats and limited use outside of their tier. They can run more diverse sets inside their tiers because they don't have to worry about centralizing threats like Heatran and Scizor.
Neverused: Pokemon that fall below UU. Yep, there are Pokemon that can't even be viable in UU.
There is also NFE or Not Fully Evolved. Many NFE Pokes are basically weaker versions of their final evolutions (Kadabra, Haunter). Many have slight stat differences that will let them serve different roles as their evolved counterparts (Electabuzz, Magmar). A select few (Scyther, Pikachu, Porygon-2) serve unique roles that make them basically entirely different Pokemon. This isn't REALLY a tier because NFE can go anywhere.
If you are basing your battle off of some other tier list, please specify and make sure it's publicly viewable.
If someone wants to play an Underused battle (UU), or Never used battle (NU), then any Pokemon in the higher tiers are banned. But those should be specified.
The clauses or rules that are generally enforced in a standard battle are:
Species: No two of the same Pokemon on one team. That means you can't have two Porygon-Z. But you can have a Porygon2 AND a Porygon-Z.
Sleep: The opponent can only put one Pokemon to sleep at a time, and can only put another to sleep upon the original one waking up or being KOed. The opponent is allowed to put a second Pokemon to sleep if it happens incidentally (Effect Spore) or if a move like Rest is used.
OHKO: One hit knock out moves are banned.
Evasion: Moves that increase evasion are banned (Double Team, Minimize). Accupressure is still allowed.
Team consists of 6 Pokemon.
Freeze: No more than 2 Pokemon can be frozen at any one time. This cannot be enforced in the Wi-Fi environment. However, it is enforced on battle simulators such as Shoddy Battle and is an optional rule on Pokemon Battle Revolution.
This is usually implied, but nothing illegal. That means anything that can't happen within the confines of the game. Certain egg moves can't be combined with other egg moves, or an egg move can't be present with an event move, and so on. If you're using Pokesav to make a team, it's best to check with an online Pokedex (or this thread) to see if your team's moves and abilities are legal.
While the following rules are not considered standard, they may be utilized in certain communities or at an individual battler's request. While it's impossible to list ANY rule someone might come up with, I'll be glad to write down the more common ones (and any others you all bring up):
Item Clause: Every item attached to a Pokemon must be different. This is enforced in official Nintendo tournaments, the Battle Tower, and among some battling communities.
Hax Items: Hax Items are items that are based on luck. Quick Claw, Focus Band, etc... They only have a chance of working. They usually aren't widely used because 90% of the time, it's like holding nothing at all. But I know this is a standard rule over on the Serebii forums, so might as well post it.
No Legends: Banning of all legendary Pokemon. Self explanatory. Usually utilized by newcomers to the world of battle. But all legendary Pokemon aren't created equal, and more than a few are actually quite weak.
No hacks: Some people care about the origins of Pokemon they use or face in a battle, some don't.
No new forms: Thanks to SCV, we all have a code so we can use alternate forms on Wi-Fi. But for those who don't use a flashcart or Action Replay, or are against hacking, they may be against it. Hence this rule.
I know my non-standard list isn't complete, so let me know if there's something you'd like added, and I probably will edit it into the post.
Part 2: How to ask for a battle.
"I want a standard battle": Correct way of asking for a standard rules battle.
"I want a standard battle with [insert alternate clause(s) here]": Correct way of asking for a standard battle with additional clauses.
NOW if you want to do a non-standard battle, as in you DON'T FOLLOW STANDARD RULES TO A T, then you need to list every single clause you are playing by.
For example, this is incorrect:
"Standard battle with Garchomp allowed": Garchomp is uber and breaks standard rules. It also basically tells your opponent what Pokemon you'll be using. The proper way to ask for a battle that allows Garchomp is this (ideally, you should just do an Uber battle, but):
"Battle with evasion/OHKO/sleep/species clause, one uber allowed.".
and a final example:
Bad: Standard battle no legends
Good: No evasion/OHKO/legends/whatever.
In other words, don't use the words "standard battle" unless you're actually following a standard battle.
