First off, I'd like to apologize as I know you sent me a PM and I failed to respond to it. To be clear - I'm usually pretty busy as of late with Smogon and it's not always easy to answer questions like this because it varies from person to person.
Since I have been known to help users in the past (I know for some people reading this - shocking), I'll be very generous today and provide some information.
Let's start with something I agree with Lemonade on - you're trying to do too many tiers at once. This actually is a huge problem when you don't fully grasp a tier to the fullest extent properly. Think back on some things like your OU VR nominations as an example or previous analyses. One example was wanting to write for Sylveon for OU, a Pokemon that isn't ranked in the OU VR as well as a Pokemon that is unviable. Consider that OU's current metagame trends do not favor Sylveon:
- Magearna and Celesteela are very popular teammates that easily punish and shut down Sylveon's sets. Celesteela gets the added bonus of hitting on its weaker defensive side with STAB Heavy Slam.
- Sylveon is rather slow so it has to rely a lot on its bulk to keep going. This is sometimes a problem when Pokemon such as Protean Greninja often run Gunk Shot for opposing fairies or Pokemon such as Tapu Bulu who give fuck all to Sylveon.
There are a lot of other reasons of course, but just small examples.
Since you're a person who at least
wants to contribute and
tries, I'll give credit where credit is due. Sometimes, though, it takes patience and time in order to properly contribute to the forums. A lot of newer people make common mistakes such as posting unviable sets (a day ago someone posted Sandstorm Aron in OU C&C) or not really understanding exactly what is going on with the metagame. I think p2 says this best:
p2:
no point in all this meta knowledge anyway
all you need to know is one tier
and it can translate to others
imo
A lot of this can be learned by lurking around as well as watching high level replays that are scattered around the site. Watching things such as SPL and WCoP help a lot. Even inside tournaments like OUPL, UPL, etc can give you a general idea on what is probably good and what isn't. Bear in mind that you have to be careful in the interpretation as tournament is very different from ladder - tournament players often prep in advance in what their opponent will likely bring while ladder has to handle general threats that are very common within the tier.
To close everything, my advice is simple:
- Lurk around more. That isn't to say you are barred from ever asking questions - I feel 90% of the time there is no such thing as a stupid question. Though this is a rather odd place to ask such questions, this is a good start. Contacting someone like me is not necessarily a bad idea either, though bear in mind that some of us are often busy with other real life things or other parts of the Smogon site. Lurking is something I highly recommend newbies do because they often will understand things a lot better when they view how the site is structured as well as have a decreased chance of being seen negatively for making mistakes. Simple Questions / Simple Answers threads, Discord, etc are great resources to learn from. Just remember - take things with a grain of salt and consider that not every response given to you will always be correct (i.e. someone posted 252 Def / SpD EVs on Rotom-H when HP is the correct investment for maximum EVs).
- Laddering helps a lot. You don't have to be #1 on the ladder to understand things like current meta trends as well as what exactly is often good or bad in the meta. Some people do have some warped opinions on meta trends sometimes (i.e. low ladder thinks Tapu Lele is broken while many higher level players disagree). Even if you watch higher level replays of various players consistently it can help you out a lot. Learning is done through various ways - it's merely a matter of how you learn best.
- Focus on one tier at a time. While learning multiple tiers can increase diversity, understanding one tier inside and out helps a lot. Worst case scenario you can refer to things such as Sample Team threads or the VR threads to have a general idea on what is good and what is bad. Sets VR, though it is not in every tier, also helps out a lot with learning. Analyses can also be something that help a user improve as well. Don't take analyses as law, but something that can be used as a reference or starting point to understanding things easier.
- Be approachable and consider constructive criticism. I understand that sometimes there are a lot of trolls on the site (at times even I am one), but constructive criticism and feedback can help a person out tremendously if they just listen. Being approachable is also huge - people don't realize how much of a difference being approachable can be to being a more tolerable user in general.
I realize this is very verbose, but in general remember that the site has a lot of resources for a newer person to learn and contribute. Taking advantage of those, though tedious at times, can go a long way. Patience is a virtue that is often underrated in the Smogon New User Metagame.