How to Think About Speed Tiers
Written and maintained by Pokedo
Memorizing base Speed order and comparing investment or items are different exercises. Follow the same pair through several conditions to see where base stats are enough and where they are not.
Start by learning base stats
Regular Garchomp has base Speed 102 and regular Salamence has 100. Garchomp wins a base Speed comparison. This close pair helps you memorize a boundary rather than relying on a general impression.
Actual Speed also depends on investment and nature. Base Speed 102 does not guarantee being faster than an opponent with base Speed 100. Separate memorizing base stats from comparing conditions.
Investment can reverse the order
These examples use level 50 and IV 31, matching the site calculation. Max Speed uses maximum investment and a Speed-boosting nature; neutral max uses maximum investment without a nature boost; uninvested uses zero investment and no nature boost. No item or stage modifier is applied yet.
With both at max Speed, Garchomp wins 169 to 167. But neutral-max Garchomp at 154 is slower than max-Speed Salamence at 167. The base stats have not changed; the conditions have.
- Garchomp: uninvested 122, neutral max 154, max Speed 169.
- Salamence: uninvested 120, neutral max 152, max Speed 167.
Check the Choice Scarf value separately
Neutral-max Salamence at 152 reaches 228 with the 1.5x Choice Scarf multiplier. It outspeeds max-Speed Garchomp at 169, so the two-point base stat gap alone cannot decide this comparison.
For max-Speed Salamence, 167 × 1.5 = 250.5 is rounded down to 250. These examples exclude abilities, weather, Tailwind, paralysis, and stat stages. Move priority and Trick Room can also affect turn order, so a Speed comparison does not describe every battle situation.
Choose the conditions and target
With both investment and Choice Scarf options off, the Speed Quiz compares base stats. When options are enabled, check the displayed investment and item conditions before answering.
For an outspeed target, specify the opponent conditions first. Max-Speed Salamence at 167 without further modifiers requires at least 168 to outspeed. Reaching 167 is a tie, not an outspeed.
The Speed Calculator lets you check actual values under selected conditions. Its investment input uses the site’s 0–32 scale, not direct entry of traditional 0–252 EVs. Use the uninvested and maximum values above as reference points before checking adjustments in between.