Welcome to PokéBeach's competitive Pokémon terminology and abbreviations compendium. In this thread you will find a list of words and abbreviations commonly used while discussing the wonderful world of VG, arranged neatly into alphabetical order! Of course, this thread will always be incomplete as there are a lot of terms out there. If you come across any words or terms that you don't know the definitions of or simply think there are some important terms we're missing here, post about it below. 
And remember, when looking for a word or abbreviation Ctrl+F is your friend!
Format:
[Word] - [Abbreviation (if applicable)] - [Definition]
And remember, when looking for a word or abbreviation Ctrl+F is your friend!
Format:
[Word] - [Abbreviation (if applicable)] - [Definition]
- Accuracy - The number used to calculate whether an attack hits the opponent or not. Every move has an accuracy value. The greater the accuracy value, the more likely it is that the move will hit. If a move has "--" accuracy it is guaranteed to hit, even if your opponent has reduced your accuracy stat or increased its evasion. This is the difference between -- accuracy and 100 accuracy.
- Archetype - A typical build of team. For example, a stall archetype uses bulky Pokémon who rely on residual damage, whereas a hyper offensive archetype uses hazards and fast Pokémon with constant offensive pressure to force switches and hit opponents hard.
- Attack (move) - A way to refer to moves that deal damage, or more specifically which are categorised as either "physical" or "special" as opposed to "status".
- Attack (stat) - Atk - This stat is used to decide how much damage a Pokémon deals with a physical attack. The counterpart to defense.
- A [#] IV Pokémon - A way of referring to someone's success with breeding. The # symbolises the number of "perfect IVs", meaning the number of IVs with a value of 30 or 31.
- Base Power - BP - The number used in the formula to calculate the amount of damage an attack deals. Every attack has a base power, and the higher the BP of the attack, the more damage it will deal. Various mechanics such as STAB and the type matchup chart change the BP of a move before it's injected into the formula.
- Base Stat - A standard representation of how fast a stat will increase for a species in relation to other species. More importantly for competitive VG, it also dictates the cap which the stat can reach. Base stats are affected by other mechanics such as EVs, IVs, temporary in-battle stat boosts and some held items, but they are quintessential to competitive play and discussion. Usually they are referred to as simply "base", e.g. "Monferno has base 64 HP". An example of where base stats are important would be in speed tiers.
- Base Stat Total - BST - The BST is calculated by adding together the 6 base stats of a Pokémon. This number is only useful to an extent, because there are other mechanics in Pokémon such as abilities, moves and typing which affects the viability of a Pokémon too. For example, Azumarill is a major threat in the OU tier, but it only has a BST of 420, which is lower than many Pokémon in the lowest tier. This is offset by its ability Huge Power. Regigigas sees no usage in competitive play thanks to its ability Slow Start, but it has a monstrous BST of 670.
- Battle Points - BP - BP is the currency used in facilities such as the Battle Maison, and it is important in purchasing many infinite items such as vitamins and EV-enhancing items.
- Defense - Def - This stat is used to decide how much damage a Pokémon takes from a physical attack. The counterpart to attack.
- Effort Values - EVs - EVs are a value used to dictate the growth of a Pokémon's stat. They are essential in competitive play because they allow for a degree of customisation within your Pokémon's stats. The main difference between EVs and IVs is that EVs are added to a Pokémon through EV training whereas IVs are a fixed number and cannot be modified. A notable consequence of this is speed creed. For greater detail about EVs, please view our EVs/IVs Guide.
- Egg Move - A move that is learned exclusively through cross breeding with another species. For more information on egg moves, please see our Breeding Guide.
- Flawless Pokémon - A Pokémon who has either 6 perfect IVs or perfect IVs in the 5 relevant stats the Pokémon needs. A perfect IV is an IV which has a value of either 30 or 31.
- Hazards - A catchall term for 4 very important moves: Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes and Sticky Web. Unlike other moves, once you've used a hazard, it can only be removed by the opponent using Rapid Spin or either player using Defog. This moves are so notable they have their own definitions in this compendium, so use Ctrl+F to find them!
- Hidden Ability - HA - A Hidden Ability refers to an ability that can only be acquired through special circumstances. Every Pokémon has one except for a select few legendary and starter Pokémon. Ways to acquire a Pokémon with its Hidden Ability in Generation VI are by catching the Pokémon from a Horde Battle, from a Friend Safari or from a DexNav encounter.
- Horde Battle - Refers to a battle where one Pokémon fights 5 opponents simultaneously. These can be accessed in the wild through usage of the item Honey or the move Sweet Scent, and are very useful when EV training or trying to find a Pokémon with its Hidden Ability.
- Hit Points - HP - This stat is the current health of the Pokémon. Once it hits 0, your Pokémon faints and can no longer be used in battle until you heal it. Battling on WiFi automatically heals your Pokémon after every battle.
- Individual Values - IVs - These are values that dictate the growth of a Pokémon's stat. The main difference between EVs and IVs is that IVs are a fixed number and cannot be modified, whereas EVs are trained onto a specific Pokémon. IVs are also used to decide on the typing of the attack Hidden Power.
- Minmax - Used to refer to the RNG acting on damage output of an attack.
- Move - Moves are how Pokémon participate in battle. They are categorised as "physical", "special" and "status". Physical moves deal damage based on attack and defense, while special moves deal damage based on special attack and special defense. Status moves do not deal damage but instead have other effects on battle, such as inflicting your opponent with a status condition or affecting the battling arena through something like weather or a hazard.
- Not Very Effective - NVE - An NVE type matchup refers to a situation where the defending type resists the attacking type, thus reducing the amount of damage the defending Pokémon takes.
- ORAS - An abbreviation for the Generation VI set of games Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.
- OT - An abbreviation meaning "Original Trainer". This consists of both the TID and the SID.
- Random Number Generator - RNG - RNG calculates almost every "random" encounter and value in the games, but as it requires an input, called a seed, RNG is only pseudo-random in Pokémon.
- Residual Damage - Residual damage refers to damage Pokémon take from things besides direct attacks. Examples include hazards and volatile status conditions such as poison, burn and Leech Seed.
- Secret ID - SID - This is a hidden number which ensures that two trainers which share a name, gender and TID are still considered different players. Despite this, there is still a 1 in 4,294,967,296 chance that two trainers will share their TID and their SID. The SID of a trainer also helps to determine the personality values of wild Pokémon which, among other things, determines whether an encounter is shiny and what evolutionary chain a Wurmple will go down.
- Splash/Splashable - A Pokemon that can fit well onto almost any team within a given archetype, or decently on any team archetype. An example would be Clefable on Balance teams in OU.
- Special Attack - SAtk or Sp. Atk - This stat is used to decide how much damage a Pokémon deals with a special attack. The counterpart to special defense.
- Special Defense - SDef, SpD or Sp. Def - This stat is used to decide how much damage a Pokémon takes from a special attack. The counterpart to special attack.
- Speed - Spe or Spd - This stat is used to determine the attack order during one turn over battle. Under normal conditions, the Pokémon with the highest speed stat moves first and the other Pokémon move in descending order. If the effect of Trick Room is in play, however, this is reversed, so the Pokémon with the lowest speed stat moves first and the other Pokémon move in ascending order. For a more in-depth look into speed, please click here.
- Speed Creep - The act of investing small amounts of EVs into a Pokémon's speed stat to outspeed other members of the Pokémon's species or other species which share a base speed stat with said Pokémon. Generally speed creep is performed through investing 16, 32 or 64 EV points into the Pokémon in question.
- Spikes - A Ground-Type entry hazard that deals a fixed amount of damage depending on how many times the move has been used, i.e. how many "layers" of Spikes have been placed. One layer of Spikes deals 12%, two layers deals 16% and three layers deals 24% of the opponent's HP when they switch in. Damage output isn't affected by typing, but Pokémon with a Ground-Type immunity will not be hurt by Spikes.
- Stealth Rock - SR - A Rock-Type entry hazard. It deals a base 12% of a Pokémon's HP, but this amount changes based on the typing of the Pokémon being hurt using that Pokémon's type matchup against Rock-Type Pokémon. For example, Charizard takes 48% damage when it switches into Stealth Rock because it is quad weak to Rock-Type attacks. On the other hand, Steelix takes only 3% damage from the move as it is quad resistant to Rock-Type attacks.
- Super Effective - SE - A SE type matchup refers to a situation where the defending type is weak against the attacking type, thus increasing the amount of damage the defending Pokémon takes.
- Team Preview- The phase before a battle begins where you can see your opponent's 6 Pokémon but no more detail than that. Important in deciding the value of your own Pokémon in the battle based on what threats your opponent has.
- Trainer ID - TID - This number is displayed on a trainer's ID card and is used for various in-game events like the lottery. Its primary purpose is to differentiate between two trainers that share the same name and gender.
- Toxic Spikes - TS - A Poison-Type entry hazard which inflicts a status condition onto a Pokémon when it switches into it. Each time you use the move, a layer is added onto your opponent's side of the field. If there is one layer of TS down, Pokémon who switch into play will be inflicted with regular poisoning and will lose 6% of its HP each turn. If there are two layers of TS down, Pokémon who switch into play will be inflicted with bad poisoning, where an additional 6% is added onto the amount of damage the status condition deals each turn. Unlike other hazards, a grounded Poison-Type Pokémon removes Toxic Spikes from its side of the field when it switches into them. Levitating, Flying- or Steel-Type Pokémon are immune to this move.
- Win Condition - Refers to a Pokemon on your team whose purpose is to finish the battle such as a sweeper. Usually used in relation to your opponent's team to show that the Pokémon in question will win if they can enter the battlefield under the right conditions.
- XY - An abbreviation for the Generation VI set of games Pokémon X and Pokémon Y.
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