Pokémon team builders compared: PokemonBuilder, Showdown and Pikalytics
Which Pokémon team builder to use, and for what: Pokémon Showdown to battle, Pikalytics for usage stats, PokemonBuilder to build with full analysis.
Most competitive players use more than one tool. This guide says what each popular option is for, so you can pick the right one for each job.
Which Pokémon team builder should you use?
It depends on what you want to do. To battle, use Pokémon Showdown. To study usage statistics, Pikalytics and Smogon's monthly statistics are the references. To build a team and check it in one place, with type coverage, speed tiers, damage and tournament data together, use PokemonBuilder.
What is Pokémon Showdown's teambuilder for?
Pokémon Showdown is the online battle simulator most competitive players use, and its teambuilder is part of it. You create teams for any format, the simulator checks them against the format's rules, and you can import and export teams as text. It is where you test a team in real battles on the ladder.
What is Pikalytics for?
Pikalytics is a usage statistics site for VGC and Smogon formats, with Pokémon Showdown ladder data filtered by rating and tournament data. For each Pokémon it lists usage, teammates, items, abilities and spreads. Its free team builder suggests sets based on tournament usage, imports and exports Showdown teams, and shares teams by link.
What is PokemonBuilder for?
PokemonBuilder is a free team builder that analyses the team while you build it: type coverage, shared weaknesses and threats from the meta, with a damage calculator and speed tiers one click away. Every Pokémon page shows its most used build and its Smogon sets, and tournament teams import into the builder in one click.
It also has a full Pokédex, a type chart and the best teams of the current regulation, and the whole site is in English and Portuguese. It exports teams in Showdown's format; there is no ladder here, and pasting a Showdown team in is not supported yet.
Open the team builder · Best teams
Can you move a team between them?
Yes, through Showdown's text format. Export a team from PokemonBuilder and paste it into Pokémon Showdown, or into any tool that imports Showdown teams, such as Pikalytics.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free Pokémon team builder in Portuguese?
Yes. PokemonBuilder is free, and every page, from the team builder to the damage calculator, exists in Portuguese and in English.
Does PokemonBuilder work on a phone?
Yes. It works in a phone's browser and can be installed as an app; the damage calculator and the speed tiers work there too.
Do I need an account?
Not to use the tools. PokemonBuilder saves your teams without an email address; an account keeps them across your devices.