Pokemon Analyses
Common Pokemon and Factors in the VGC Environment
There is a wide variety of Pokemon used in VGC. Wider then in Singles, some may say. Though what is "needed" and most common in Singles is not what you would usually see in VGC. In Singles, things like Heatran, Scizor, Gyrados, and others run rampant, sweeping and tearing things up with some nice prediction. In VGC, their roles are nearly non-existent, or completely reversed. Here, I will show you some common Pokemon you will see in the VGC environment, and what you can expect from them. I won't go too in-depth here, as that will be outlined later, in most cases.
Metagross
This is more then likely then #1 used Pokemon in the VGC. It can fit in to nearly any team, and even without Egg Moves, has a gigantic Movepool. Not only that, but he has handy resistances, neutrality to many attacks, and only 2 weaknesses. He can rarely be OHKO'd due to his general bulkiness because of his typing, even with Super Effective hits, and he has a naturally huge Base Attack. These include, but are not limited to: Meteor Mash, Bullet Punch, Elemental Punches, Earthquake, Psyche Up, Trick, Protect, and Explosion.
Snorlax
Snorlax is another big Pokemon in the VGC. He can eat a whole lot of hits, and can dish them right back out. With Sitrus Berry, he survives that much longer. Another bulky Pokemon that's powerful, like Metagross. And due to him having only one weakness, he's widely accepted as a fail-safe Pokemon to fall back on. Also, he too sports a wide Movepool: The almighty Body Slam, Return, Elemental Punches, Belly Drum, Crunch, Covet, Curse, and (STAB) Selfdestruct.
Cresselia
You thought this was bad on those pesky Stall Teams in Singles play, and figured "Well now I have 2 Pokemon to take it out," right? Well, things aren't so simple as that! Majority of the Cresselia's out there are one of three types: Team Support, Calm Minders, and Chesto-Resters. Generally, the Support variant sees the most use, but really, it depends on what your team needs most. The bulk on this thing is immense enough without EV investment, and it supports a single Psychic typing along with the lovely ability Levitate. Psychic is weak to only Bug, Ghost, and Dark, moves that are generally not very popular. But this Pokemon can be considered such a threat, that some Trainers waste a whole Moveslot just to counter this one Pokemon. Also, one thing you have to bear in mind is this; Do you really want to use it? Think of this scenario: Both you and your opponent have a Cresselia. Somehow, they are the last Pokemon left standing. You are in for one long, long, long, and boring match. At least it can't explode, but sometimes you wish it would! Anyway, a list of useful moves: Light Screen, Reflect, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Calm Mind, Rest, Helping Hand, Icy Wind, Trick Room, Psycho Shift, Trick, and even Moonlight.
Lati@s
Though the blue brother version, Latios, is preferred, they both have their uses. Latios's stats are geared more towards Sweeping, but is more frail. His sister, Latias, on the other hand, has the Physical attributes swapped, as well as the Special ones, making her more bulky. Both have roughly the same Moves, with few exceptions, limited mostly to Level-Up differences. Psychic/Dragon-Types with Levitate, sporting many resistances and an Immunity, and a mere 4 Weaknesses. Here's a list of moves for both Pokemon: Draco Meteor, Thunderbolt or Thunder, Shadow Ball, Icy Wind, Toxic, Thunder Wave, Reflect, Light Screen, Trick, Helping Hand, Roost, and Recover.
Smeargle
The Pokemon that can learn ANY MOVE; Judgement is the only move not allowed, but it's BANNED anyway. Smeargle would have no use for it anyway with it's pathetic stats. Smeargle can do a lot of things with his lovable Sketch, including being the only legal Pokemon to use DARK VOID, which has a whopping 80% to put BOTH of the opponents Pokemon to sleep!! Though because of his poor stats, he is only used for certain things on certain teams. Still, this is one dangerous Pokemon that deserves it's own mention, since it can even run a highly effective FEAR set. Notable moves: Dark Void, Endeavor, Follow Me, Fake Out, Detect, and even Transform (Oh yea, believe it)!
Shedinja Surprise!
I bet if this wasn't in here, you would never even have thought about it. What happens if you don't carry one of the moves that can hit this little bug? What happens if you don't carry Toxic or Will O' Wisp? What happens if your last/only Pokemon is knocked out that can even touch this? You lose, plain and simple. There is absolutely no other way to put it. You just lose. Always have a way of dealing with Shedinja, or you may as well not play the Metagame at all. Carry a move that can take care of it, such as a Dark/Fire Attack or Status move. Also, remember that no matter what, Sandstorm and Hail WILL kill it at the end of the turn, but also keep in mind that most of, if not all, Shedinja carry Sunny Day, as well as either a Focus Sash or Lum Berry. Here, we will provide a list of the moves that can hit Sheddy: Ghost-, Dark-, Fire-, Flying-, and Rock-Type attacks, Toxic, Will O' Wisp, Hail, and Sandstorm. (NOTE: Confusion also works, so Swagger and Confuse Ray can be considered. All Status-inducing moves DO work, but won't kill him)
Protect Mind-Games!
Protect and Detect. Two moves in VGC that are almost mandatory on every Pokemon. If your Pokemon is up against something that can kill it in one shot, chances are it sure as hell will try. You also need to be wary of your own teams moves, such as Earthquake or Explosion, or else you may as well give your opponent the win. Protect can do many things: It can keep your Pokemon alive, it can make your opponents move completely useless and leave it wide open, it can even be used just to gain some recovery from Leftovers. If used every other turn, it is guaranteed to succeed. Using it twice in a row drops that second chance to 75%, and anything beyond that is only 50% chance of working. Protect is useful, but don't spam it unless absolutely necessary.
Things with Fake Out
That's right, no single Pokemon takes precedence here, though the four most likely users are Infernape, Weavile, Ludicolo, and Smeargle. There are plenty of others, which is why they all aren't named. This move get's it's own mention because it is a move that makes a Pokemon great in this Metagame. Flinching an opponent can be KEY to winning if you need to set up some kind of move, such as Rain Dance or Trick Room, or even, just for the hell of it, to make sure your opponent can't act for a turn. Just remember which Pokemon can have Inner Focus, because forgetting this can be your downfall.
Things with Priority Moves Priority Moves, while mostly known in Singles as "Bullet Punch Scizor," are even more powerful in the VGC Metagame. These can be used to kill Focus Sashers, to get that last bit of HP gone, and some Pokemon are powerful enough to use that as their primary STAB move! Remember, Knocking Out a Pokemon in Doubles before it can act means quite a few things:
*First off, their turn is DONE, leaving only one Pokemon to attack or setup insead of two.
**Second off, this is especially inportant in VGC. There are only 4 Pokemon instead of 6, and only letting them attack once instead of twice can make all the difference in your battle.
***Finally, this can put you at an enormous advantage if the stage is left standing with your opponent at one Pokemon, and you with two or more. In most cases, this means you win, but you could get unlucky and things could go awry.
Alright, so we know about some of the popular Pokemon, and skilled Trainers can find ways to handle them in one way or another. Remember, though there is skill, common sense is an even closer friend. Sometimes, basics work best: Pick on weaknesses, Taunt Support-type Pokemon, or even leave a weaker Pokemon alone to pick off last while you take out the stronger members it could be supporting.
There it is. Fundamentals. Sometimes, that's what it comes down to. Even the most skilled Trainer can over-predict and end up making the wrong move. Always remember the basic fundamentals of Pokemon, such as typing, weaknesses, abilities, and to a further extent, the moves a Pokemon can learn. Sometimes, a surprise is all you need to catch an opponent off-guard and win the game. Were getting to learn about specific Pokemon, but how exactly does that help us when it comes to making a Team? That is pretty much up to you, but sometimes even the "bog standards" are enough to win a match. Listed below will be some of the Pokemon named above, and how they are useful in different teams.
Team Types and Components
There are several types of teams in VGC. The most common ones will be shown here. These are not in any specific order, but are all likely to be things that you will run in to. There are always more teams lurking out there, almost as many as there are Pokemon, but the most useful and common ones will be posted here, so you can prepare yourself. I encourage everybody to TEST these teams out on NetBattle Supremacy at our Server, Skarmbliss.com. Basically, everybody leads with 2 Exploders, and then the real battle starts. This will help you get a feel for things, and make sure you don't waste your time building something for real that doesn't work.
~ Rain Teams
This is a type of team that revolves around the move "Rain Dance." Rain is so flexible, it can be used in many different ways. Rain is the most popular weather effect that is used in VGC by far, so always try and make your team prepared for Rain, even if it's only by using your substitutes. This is a kind of team that is the epitome of "hyper offense," which means after you set up, you want to hit them as hard as you can!
* Water moves get a 1.5x boost in rain, so Hydro Pump, instead of 120 power, becomes 180 power, which is a significant boost, not to mention STAB, which will literally DOUBLE any Water Moves power. So instead of facing a 120 Base Hydro Pump, your dealing with a monsterous 240 Base Power one instead. Also, you can factor in things such as an Aqua Jet from, say, Azumarill. Base 40, plus Rain (x1.5), plus STAB (x1.5), plus Huge Power (x2), plus Priority. Suddenly, such a small move usually used to kill a low HP Pokemon now becomes a killer move.
* Rain Dance means that Thunder, a very powerful move with a 30% Paralysis rate, now has 100% accuracy. This is very deadly and can be used on many, many Pokemon, but usually seen on Jolteon or Zapdos. Rain also makes it so Solarbeam power is at 50% of 120, or 60 power.
* Rain also lowers the power of Fire moves to .5 of what they used to be; so, Fire Blast instead of having 120 power becomes 60 power. This can also be used, in conjunction with Damage-Reduction Berries (Such as Shuca Berry, reducing the power of Super Effective Ground-type moves), to make your Pokemon have NO Weaknesses. Metagross with Shuca Berry is starting to become common on Rain teams due to it having no Weakness when Rain is up. Even though a Berry only get's to be used once, that one time is usually more then enough.
* Some abilities benefit from Rain, namely Water Absorb, Swift Swim, and Dry Skin, all with their various affects. Water Absorb and Dry Skin may want you to lean more towards using Surf, but keep in mind that, while doing more damage overall, it also means you miss out on several OHKO's that can only be made with Hydro Pump.
Here are some of the standard Rain Team components you may see:
*Ludicolo: He uses Fake Out to allow your partner to set up your valuable Rain, while also getting Swift Swim or, to a less popular extent, Rain Dish, ability enabled. This is almost always a lead-off Pokemon.
*Kingdra: Abuses Swift Swim, becoming usually the fastest Pokemon in the game, and OHKO's almost anything with a Hydro Pump or one of it's other coverage/STAB moves.
*Vaporeon: Vaporeon is a pretty Bulky Pokemon, and can also benefit from a partners Surf to heal itself. Plus, even without maxing it's SpAtk Stat, the Rain makes it's own Surf or Hydro Pump quite powerful.
*Jolteon: One of the 130 Base Speed Pokemon used to set up Rain Dance and can abuse Thunder. Jolteon usually only gets one other attack option, which comes in the form of Hidden Power or very few other options, but pick a move that covers some of your teams holes.
*Zapdos: Another Rain Dance user who also abuses Thunder. With a wide variety of moves at his disposal, Zapdos can be unpredictable and deadly. Apart from Thunder, his other moves are used for coverage to hit things that resist Water/Electric moves, or just bulky anti-Rain Pokemon, for Super Effective damage.
There are many other Pokemon that see use in Rain, such as Azumarill, Metagross, Lapras, Poliwrath/toed, Empoleon, and many others, that are used for many different reasons, such as for type coverage, an ability, or a specific move that only a few have access to.
Now that we know what a Rain Team can do, we need to know how to get around it. Here are some things that give Rain Dance some trouble:
*Ludicolo: That's right, use their own weapons against them. Boasting a 4x Water Resistance and the ability to dish out the same moves, he can be quite the little sombrero-wearing terror. Also, you could abuse his other type advantage, Grass, with moves like Sunny Day, Solarbeam, Grass Knot, and so on.
*Kingdra: Another usual Rain component, also boasting a 4x Water Resistance and the handy Swift Swim ability, can just as easily be used against Rain as it can be used for Rain.
*Sunny Day: This move instantly cancels out all Rain-oriented Abilities, and cuts all water moves to Half damage, and makes Thunders accuracy a measly 50%.
*Sandstorm/Hail/Abomasnow: I set these apart from Sun because they do not have as much of an effect against Rain as Sunny Day does, except perhaps Abomasnow. Not only does he come in and take away the Rain by setting up Hail, but also supports resistance to Water, Electric, Grass, and neutrality to Ice. Also, the more common Rain Pokemon have Weakness or Neutrality to Abomasnow's now 100% Accurate Blizzard. Some users use this Pokemon to specifically to counter Rain, and throw on a Choice Scarf, to likely kill the Pokemon that is used to set Rain up again.
~ Trick Room Teams
This is a type of team that revolves around the move "Trick Room," which effectively reverses the turn order by making the slowest Pokemon go first, and the fastest Pokemon last. This move only lasts for FOUR TURNS after you use it, so spend them wisely. This is a team where slow, bulky yet powerhouse Pokemon, thrive in. But of course, you need a Pokemon to set up Trick Room (Henceforth referred to as "TR"). Please note that Priority Moves completely negate the Speed stat. Also note that not all Pokemon that CAN learn TR should be on a TR team, such as Stantler or Alakazam. This is another form of "Hyper Offensive," but even more so then Rain Dance because you only have 4 Turns to take advantage of.
*Pokemon that can learn TR: Alakazam, Slowbro, Gengar, Hypno, Exeggutor, Starmie, Mr. Mime, Jynx, Porygon/2/Z, Mewtwo, Mew, Xatu, Smeargle, Espeon, Slowking, Girafarig, Stantler, Celebi, Gardevoir, Grumpig, Spinda, Lunatone, Solrock, Claydol, Keckleon, Banette, Chimecho, Jirachi, Deoxys, Mismagius, Bronzong, Gallade, Dusknoir, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, and Cresselia.
*Trick Room reverses the Speed Order, letting things like Snorlax move before, say, Jolteon.
*Trick Room has a Negative Priority, so always remember that no matter how fast or slow you are, TR will almost always go last.
*Trick Room only last for 4 Turns after the turn you use it.
*Pulling off Trick Room is difficult sometimes, but is absolutely beautiful and beneficial if you can do it properly.
*There isn't much to Trick Room, but it is harder to run properly if you can not pull the move off. This is usually a harder, yet usually more effective, team to use then Rain Dance.
*An early note about Smeargle. Most Smeargle in TR Teams are at Level 1, because it knows it is going to die anyway. It abuses it's Level 1 by being the slowest poekmon in the game, with only 4 Speed points, and using Endevour, which, if unharmed, will bring any Pokemon to a minimum of 12 HP, enough for any priority move to kill it. Or any move, actually. There are some Level 50 Smeargle, but they are just not as popular, and are usually Choice Scarf Dark Void users.
There isn't much to TR teams, to be completely honest. You have to set it up, and then precede to pummel your opponent into the ground. You wind up with more Bulky then usual Pokemon since most other Pokemon use a lot of Speed. In TR, you push everything into a Pokemons Attack Stat and general defenses.
Now that we are a bit more enlightened about TR teams in general, let's find out what we can expect to see in Trick Room:
*Dusknoir: He is almost ALWAYs used as the Trick Room user. He has the most flexibility and bulk of majority of the TR users. He also comes with the Priority move Shados Sneak, which can get that kill you barely missed, and it has STAB.
*Bronzong: Another of the more popular TR users. Bulky, comes with STAB Gyro Ball, which does massive damage (Even without Attack EV investment) to high-speed Pokemon that do not resist it, and usually OHKO's them, and can Explode if you don't want him there anymore!
*Snorlax: Another almost always used Pokemon. He's already slow, bulky, and powerful, so he makes a perfect fit on this type of team. Did I mention he has a STAB Selfdestruct? And with the power behind it, he can kill anything that isn't immune or doesn't resist it if they aren't bulky enough, and if Reflect isn't up.
* Rhyperior: He is starting to be more and more popular with his massive Attack stat, and his flinching Rock Slide, meaning your opponent may not get to attack at all! Types that resist Rock are Steel, Rock, and Ground, two of which it's other popular STAB move, Earthquake, are Super Effective on.
*Smeargle: This Pokemon is a staple on nearly every good TR team in existence. Smeargle can learn every move i nthe game with it's Sketch, so it can do a ridiculous amount of things to the enemy if they are not prepared. It can Dark Void to put both of your opponents to sleep, Endevour to bring them down to your HP, Fake Out to flinch a threat of the opponents, and a handful of other things. It can even use Follow Me to ensure Trick Room goes off, which brings us to our next section!
Speaking of Follow Me, it is also an important, but not always necessary, tool in TR teams. Some Follow Me users, like Smeargle, are just bait for your opponent to waste time on attacking. Others can take a few hits and add to your teams offense. Either way, if your opening pair has TR on one Pokemon, and Follow Me on another, that is nearly a 100% guaranteed way to get TR off, if you are willing to possibly sacrifice a Pokemon. Here is a list of the Follow Me users, with comments and other capabilities:
*Togekiss: This is one helluva Bulky bullet. It's Special Attack is already high enough that you don't need many, if any, SpAtk EV's to make a nice hit. After you set up TR, Togekiss can be used with it's awesome ability Serene Grace and use Body Slam (physical), Air Slash, or Tri-Attack to spread around Flinching and Status. Did I mention it learns Roost? Also note that Tri-Attack is an exclusive XD-Only move.
*Clefable: Another of the few Bulky Follow Me users. Magic Guard, regarded as one of the best abilities in the game, makes it so no outside damaging effect, such as Life Orb, Recoil, Burn do no harm to it. Magic Guard also means that the Moon Pokemon doesn't care about Hail or Sandstorm. After using Follow Me, it can safely use STAB Toxic/Flame Orb Facade, or the standard Ice Beam and Thunderbolt set. Softboiled is also a handy move to have.
*Electivire: ~~PLEASE NOTE THAT FOLLOW ME ELECTIVIRE CAN ONLY BE OBTAINED VIA Pokemon XD~~ If an opponent is throwing around Discharge, and that's a common problem for your team, then have no fear! Even without Follow Me, he can use the Discharge to speed him up so he can be powerful and effective even OUTSIDE of TR! He also brings in the occasional Thunderbolt from Latios if that is it's only attacking move besides Draco Meteor. Note that Electivire is the most frail Follow Me user, other then our final decent one:
*Smeargle: Of course he makes the list! Usually, if Smeargle does not use Fake Out on the first turn, then it will Follow Me and sacrifice itself. If it manages to live, it can fire off either Dark Void or Endevour to effective shutdown or kill an opponents Pokemon.
Okay, so now we know what we are up against. We know what is likely to come, and how it's role is played out in the grand scheme of a TR team. It sounds dangerous, doesn't it? That's because it is. Period. Especially if you are not prepared for it. If you aren't, you lose the game, plain and simple.
What we are going to do now is show you the kinds of things that can counter Trick Room and the nice amount of things that come coupled with this sort of team:
*Taunt: That's right, another single move that counters an entire team! However, if they are running a Follow Me user, then your Taunt becomes completely useless, except for locking Smeargle into Endevour. What's worse: Dark Void, or Endevour?
*Chesto/Lum Berries: This solves the common cold - I mean Dark Void problem. However, keep in mind that you are using 2 item slots to counter 1 move. Sometimes, though, it is completely worth it.
*Imprison: This move stops TR if the Imprison user has it as well. Since TR has a negative Priority, it doesn't matter how fast or slow you are. Beware that only a few Pokemon can learn Imprison, but those Pokemon are often found in TR Teams anyway. See the mind-games and trickery we are getting at?
*Priority Moves: These completely negate TR due to priority. These can be essential to beating said teams Smeargles and other such things. Though, Priority Moves in general are just great.
*Dusknoir: Wow, more of a teams own components can be used to counter it. Run a Dusknoir with Protect, Trick Room, Shadow Punch, and IMPRISON, and you shut down Pokemon with those moves. This puts TR in a bad spot. Plus, it's a Ghost type, so Fake Out can not stop it, unless coming from a Scrappy ability Pokemon, like Kangaskahn.
*Bronzong: This is ironic, isn't it? It actually does the same exact job as the above mentioned Dusknoir, just trading Shadow Punch for Explosion or Gyro Ball. However, beware of Fake Out.
*Snorlax: What better way to counter a TR team then using something that has access to Crunch for Ghosts, and Selfdestruct for everything else? TR teams will not likely be using Protect all the time, since they want you dead in 4 Turns or less. Let the BOOOOOMING begin!
Part one of the Introduction to VGC play
Part three of the Introduction to VGC play
Common Pokemon and Factors in the VGC Environment
There is a wide variety of Pokemon used in VGC. Wider then in Singles, some may say. Though what is "needed" and most common in Singles is not what you would usually see in VGC. In Singles, things like Heatran, Scizor, Gyrados, and others run rampant, sweeping and tearing things up with some nice prediction. In VGC, their roles are nearly non-existent, or completely reversed. Here, I will show you some common Pokemon you will see in the VGC environment, and what you can expect from them. I won't go too in-depth here, as that will be outlined later, in most cases.
Metagross
This is more then likely then #1 used Pokemon in the VGC. It can fit in to nearly any team, and even without Egg Moves, has a gigantic Movepool. Not only that, but he has handy resistances, neutrality to many attacks, and only 2 weaknesses. He can rarely be OHKO'd due to his general bulkiness because of his typing, even with Super Effective hits, and he has a naturally huge Base Attack. These include, but are not limited to: Meteor Mash, Bullet Punch, Elemental Punches, Earthquake, Psyche Up, Trick, Protect, and Explosion.
Snorlax
Snorlax is another big Pokemon in the VGC. He can eat a whole lot of hits, and can dish them right back out. With Sitrus Berry, he survives that much longer. Another bulky Pokemon that's powerful, like Metagross. And due to him having only one weakness, he's widely accepted as a fail-safe Pokemon to fall back on. Also, he too sports a wide Movepool: The almighty Body Slam, Return, Elemental Punches, Belly Drum, Crunch, Covet, Curse, and (STAB) Selfdestruct.
Cresselia
You thought this was bad on those pesky Stall Teams in Singles play, and figured "Well now I have 2 Pokemon to take it out," right? Well, things aren't so simple as that! Majority of the Cresselia's out there are one of three types: Team Support, Calm Minders, and Chesto-Resters. Generally, the Support variant sees the most use, but really, it depends on what your team needs most. The bulk on this thing is immense enough without EV investment, and it supports a single Psychic typing along with the lovely ability Levitate. Psychic is weak to only Bug, Ghost, and Dark, moves that are generally not very popular. But this Pokemon can be considered such a threat, that some Trainers waste a whole Moveslot just to counter this one Pokemon. Also, one thing you have to bear in mind is this; Do you really want to use it? Think of this scenario: Both you and your opponent have a Cresselia. Somehow, they are the last Pokemon left standing. You are in for one long, long, long, and boring match. At least it can't explode, but sometimes you wish it would! Anyway, a list of useful moves: Light Screen, Reflect, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Calm Mind, Rest, Helping Hand, Icy Wind, Trick Room, Psycho Shift, Trick, and even Moonlight.
Lati@s
Though the blue brother version, Latios, is preferred, they both have their uses. Latios's stats are geared more towards Sweeping, but is more frail. His sister, Latias, on the other hand, has the Physical attributes swapped, as well as the Special ones, making her more bulky. Both have roughly the same Moves, with few exceptions, limited mostly to Level-Up differences. Psychic/Dragon-Types with Levitate, sporting many resistances and an Immunity, and a mere 4 Weaknesses. Here's a list of moves for both Pokemon: Draco Meteor, Thunderbolt or Thunder, Shadow Ball, Icy Wind, Toxic, Thunder Wave, Reflect, Light Screen, Trick, Helping Hand, Roost, and Recover.
Smeargle
The Pokemon that can learn ANY MOVE; Judgement is the only move not allowed, but it's BANNED anyway. Smeargle would have no use for it anyway with it's pathetic stats. Smeargle can do a lot of things with his lovable Sketch, including being the only legal Pokemon to use DARK VOID, which has a whopping 80% to put BOTH of the opponents Pokemon to sleep!! Though because of his poor stats, he is only used for certain things on certain teams. Still, this is one dangerous Pokemon that deserves it's own mention, since it can even run a highly effective FEAR set. Notable moves: Dark Void, Endeavor, Follow Me, Fake Out, Detect, and even Transform (Oh yea, believe it)!
Shedinja Surprise!
I bet if this wasn't in here, you would never even have thought about it. What happens if you don't carry one of the moves that can hit this little bug? What happens if you don't carry Toxic or Will O' Wisp? What happens if your last/only Pokemon is knocked out that can even touch this? You lose, plain and simple. There is absolutely no other way to put it. You just lose. Always have a way of dealing with Shedinja, or you may as well not play the Metagame at all. Carry a move that can take care of it, such as a Dark/Fire Attack or Status move. Also, remember that no matter what, Sandstorm and Hail WILL kill it at the end of the turn, but also keep in mind that most of, if not all, Shedinja carry Sunny Day, as well as either a Focus Sash or Lum Berry. Here, we will provide a list of the moves that can hit Sheddy: Ghost-, Dark-, Fire-, Flying-, and Rock-Type attacks, Toxic, Will O' Wisp, Hail, and Sandstorm. (NOTE: Confusion also works, so Swagger and Confuse Ray can be considered. All Status-inducing moves DO work, but won't kill him)
Protect Mind-Games!
Protect and Detect. Two moves in VGC that are almost mandatory on every Pokemon. If your Pokemon is up against something that can kill it in one shot, chances are it sure as hell will try. You also need to be wary of your own teams moves, such as Earthquake or Explosion, or else you may as well give your opponent the win. Protect can do many things: It can keep your Pokemon alive, it can make your opponents move completely useless and leave it wide open, it can even be used just to gain some recovery from Leftovers. If used every other turn, it is guaranteed to succeed. Using it twice in a row drops that second chance to 75%, and anything beyond that is only 50% chance of working. Protect is useful, but don't spam it unless absolutely necessary.
Things with Fake Out
That's right, no single Pokemon takes precedence here, though the four most likely users are Infernape, Weavile, Ludicolo, and Smeargle. There are plenty of others, which is why they all aren't named. This move get's it's own mention because it is a move that makes a Pokemon great in this Metagame. Flinching an opponent can be KEY to winning if you need to set up some kind of move, such as Rain Dance or Trick Room, or even, just for the hell of it, to make sure your opponent can't act for a turn. Just remember which Pokemon can have Inner Focus, because forgetting this can be your downfall.
Things with Priority Moves Priority Moves, while mostly known in Singles as "Bullet Punch Scizor," are even more powerful in the VGC Metagame. These can be used to kill Focus Sashers, to get that last bit of HP gone, and some Pokemon are powerful enough to use that as their primary STAB move! Remember, Knocking Out a Pokemon in Doubles before it can act means quite a few things:
*First off, their turn is DONE, leaving only one Pokemon to attack or setup insead of two.
**Second off, this is especially inportant in VGC. There are only 4 Pokemon instead of 6, and only letting them attack once instead of twice can make all the difference in your battle.
***Finally, this can put you at an enormous advantage if the stage is left standing with your opponent at one Pokemon, and you with two or more. In most cases, this means you win, but you could get unlucky and things could go awry.
Alright, so we know about some of the popular Pokemon, and skilled Trainers can find ways to handle them in one way or another. Remember, though there is skill, common sense is an even closer friend. Sometimes, basics work best: Pick on weaknesses, Taunt Support-type Pokemon, or even leave a weaker Pokemon alone to pick off last while you take out the stronger members it could be supporting.
There it is. Fundamentals. Sometimes, that's what it comes down to. Even the most skilled Trainer can over-predict and end up making the wrong move. Always remember the basic fundamentals of Pokemon, such as typing, weaknesses, abilities, and to a further extent, the moves a Pokemon can learn. Sometimes, a surprise is all you need to catch an opponent off-guard and win the game. Were getting to learn about specific Pokemon, but how exactly does that help us when it comes to making a Team? That is pretty much up to you, but sometimes even the "bog standards" are enough to win a match. Listed below will be some of the Pokemon named above, and how they are useful in different teams.
Team Types and Components
There are several types of teams in VGC. The most common ones will be shown here. These are not in any specific order, but are all likely to be things that you will run in to. There are always more teams lurking out there, almost as many as there are Pokemon, but the most useful and common ones will be posted here, so you can prepare yourself. I encourage everybody to TEST these teams out on NetBattle Supremacy at our Server, Skarmbliss.com. Basically, everybody leads with 2 Exploders, and then the real battle starts. This will help you get a feel for things, and make sure you don't waste your time building something for real that doesn't work.
~ Rain Teams
This is a type of team that revolves around the move "Rain Dance." Rain is so flexible, it can be used in many different ways. Rain is the most popular weather effect that is used in VGC by far, so always try and make your team prepared for Rain, even if it's only by using your substitutes. This is a kind of team that is the epitome of "hyper offense," which means after you set up, you want to hit them as hard as you can!
* Water moves get a 1.5x boost in rain, so Hydro Pump, instead of 120 power, becomes 180 power, which is a significant boost, not to mention STAB, which will literally DOUBLE any Water Moves power. So instead of facing a 120 Base Hydro Pump, your dealing with a monsterous 240 Base Power one instead. Also, you can factor in things such as an Aqua Jet from, say, Azumarill. Base 40, plus Rain (x1.5), plus STAB (x1.5), plus Huge Power (x2), plus Priority. Suddenly, such a small move usually used to kill a low HP Pokemon now becomes a killer move.
* Rain Dance means that Thunder, a very powerful move with a 30% Paralysis rate, now has 100% accuracy. This is very deadly and can be used on many, many Pokemon, but usually seen on Jolteon or Zapdos. Rain also makes it so Solarbeam power is at 50% of 120, or 60 power.
* Rain also lowers the power of Fire moves to .5 of what they used to be; so, Fire Blast instead of having 120 power becomes 60 power. This can also be used, in conjunction with Damage-Reduction Berries (Such as Shuca Berry, reducing the power of Super Effective Ground-type moves), to make your Pokemon have NO Weaknesses. Metagross with Shuca Berry is starting to become common on Rain teams due to it having no Weakness when Rain is up. Even though a Berry only get's to be used once, that one time is usually more then enough.
* Some abilities benefit from Rain, namely Water Absorb, Swift Swim, and Dry Skin, all with their various affects. Water Absorb and Dry Skin may want you to lean more towards using Surf, but keep in mind that, while doing more damage overall, it also means you miss out on several OHKO's that can only be made with Hydro Pump.
Here are some of the standard Rain Team components you may see:
*Ludicolo: He uses Fake Out to allow your partner to set up your valuable Rain, while also getting Swift Swim or, to a less popular extent, Rain Dish, ability enabled. This is almost always a lead-off Pokemon.
*Kingdra: Abuses Swift Swim, becoming usually the fastest Pokemon in the game, and OHKO's almost anything with a Hydro Pump or one of it's other coverage/STAB moves.
*Vaporeon: Vaporeon is a pretty Bulky Pokemon, and can also benefit from a partners Surf to heal itself. Plus, even without maxing it's SpAtk Stat, the Rain makes it's own Surf or Hydro Pump quite powerful.
*Jolteon: One of the 130 Base Speed Pokemon used to set up Rain Dance and can abuse Thunder. Jolteon usually only gets one other attack option, which comes in the form of Hidden Power or very few other options, but pick a move that covers some of your teams holes.
*Zapdos: Another Rain Dance user who also abuses Thunder. With a wide variety of moves at his disposal, Zapdos can be unpredictable and deadly. Apart from Thunder, his other moves are used for coverage to hit things that resist Water/Electric moves, or just bulky anti-Rain Pokemon, for Super Effective damage.
There are many other Pokemon that see use in Rain, such as Azumarill, Metagross, Lapras, Poliwrath/toed, Empoleon, and many others, that are used for many different reasons, such as for type coverage, an ability, or a specific move that only a few have access to.
Now that we know what a Rain Team can do, we need to know how to get around it. Here are some things that give Rain Dance some trouble:
*Ludicolo: That's right, use their own weapons against them. Boasting a 4x Water Resistance and the ability to dish out the same moves, he can be quite the little sombrero-wearing terror. Also, you could abuse his other type advantage, Grass, with moves like Sunny Day, Solarbeam, Grass Knot, and so on.
*Kingdra: Another usual Rain component, also boasting a 4x Water Resistance and the handy Swift Swim ability, can just as easily be used against Rain as it can be used for Rain.
*Sunny Day: This move instantly cancels out all Rain-oriented Abilities, and cuts all water moves to Half damage, and makes Thunders accuracy a measly 50%.
*Sandstorm/Hail/Abomasnow: I set these apart from Sun because they do not have as much of an effect against Rain as Sunny Day does, except perhaps Abomasnow. Not only does he come in and take away the Rain by setting up Hail, but also supports resistance to Water, Electric, Grass, and neutrality to Ice. Also, the more common Rain Pokemon have Weakness or Neutrality to Abomasnow's now 100% Accurate Blizzard. Some users use this Pokemon to specifically to counter Rain, and throw on a Choice Scarf, to likely kill the Pokemon that is used to set Rain up again.
~ Trick Room Teams
This is a type of team that revolves around the move "Trick Room," which effectively reverses the turn order by making the slowest Pokemon go first, and the fastest Pokemon last. This move only lasts for FOUR TURNS after you use it, so spend them wisely. This is a team where slow, bulky yet powerhouse Pokemon, thrive in. But of course, you need a Pokemon to set up Trick Room (Henceforth referred to as "TR"). Please note that Priority Moves completely negate the Speed stat. Also note that not all Pokemon that CAN learn TR should be on a TR team, such as Stantler or Alakazam. This is another form of "Hyper Offensive," but even more so then Rain Dance because you only have 4 Turns to take advantage of.
*Pokemon that can learn TR: Alakazam, Slowbro, Gengar, Hypno, Exeggutor, Starmie, Mr. Mime, Jynx, Porygon/2/Z, Mewtwo, Mew, Xatu, Smeargle, Espeon, Slowking, Girafarig, Stantler, Celebi, Gardevoir, Grumpig, Spinda, Lunatone, Solrock, Claydol, Keckleon, Banette, Chimecho, Jirachi, Deoxys, Mismagius, Bronzong, Gallade, Dusknoir, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, and Cresselia.
*Trick Room reverses the Speed Order, letting things like Snorlax move before, say, Jolteon.
*Trick Room has a Negative Priority, so always remember that no matter how fast or slow you are, TR will almost always go last.
*Trick Room only last for 4 Turns after the turn you use it.
*Pulling off Trick Room is difficult sometimes, but is absolutely beautiful and beneficial if you can do it properly.
*There isn't much to Trick Room, but it is harder to run properly if you can not pull the move off. This is usually a harder, yet usually more effective, team to use then Rain Dance.
*An early note about Smeargle. Most Smeargle in TR Teams are at Level 1, because it knows it is going to die anyway. It abuses it's Level 1 by being the slowest poekmon in the game, with only 4 Speed points, and using Endevour, which, if unharmed, will bring any Pokemon to a minimum of 12 HP, enough for any priority move to kill it. Or any move, actually. There are some Level 50 Smeargle, but they are just not as popular, and are usually Choice Scarf Dark Void users.
There isn't much to TR teams, to be completely honest. You have to set it up, and then precede to pummel your opponent into the ground. You wind up with more Bulky then usual Pokemon since most other Pokemon use a lot of Speed. In TR, you push everything into a Pokemons Attack Stat and general defenses.
Now that we are a bit more enlightened about TR teams in general, let's find out what we can expect to see in Trick Room:
*Dusknoir: He is almost ALWAYs used as the Trick Room user. He has the most flexibility and bulk of majority of the TR users. He also comes with the Priority move Shados Sneak, which can get that kill you barely missed, and it has STAB.
*Bronzong: Another of the more popular TR users. Bulky, comes with STAB Gyro Ball, which does massive damage (Even without Attack EV investment) to high-speed Pokemon that do not resist it, and usually OHKO's them, and can Explode if you don't want him there anymore!
*Snorlax: Another almost always used Pokemon. He's already slow, bulky, and powerful, so he makes a perfect fit on this type of team. Did I mention he has a STAB Selfdestruct? And with the power behind it, he can kill anything that isn't immune or doesn't resist it if they aren't bulky enough, and if Reflect isn't up.
* Rhyperior: He is starting to be more and more popular with his massive Attack stat, and his flinching Rock Slide, meaning your opponent may not get to attack at all! Types that resist Rock are Steel, Rock, and Ground, two of which it's other popular STAB move, Earthquake, are Super Effective on.
*Smeargle: This Pokemon is a staple on nearly every good TR team in existence. Smeargle can learn every move i nthe game with it's Sketch, so it can do a ridiculous amount of things to the enemy if they are not prepared. It can Dark Void to put both of your opponents to sleep, Endevour to bring them down to your HP, Fake Out to flinch a threat of the opponents, and a handful of other things. It can even use Follow Me to ensure Trick Room goes off, which brings us to our next section!
Speaking of Follow Me, it is also an important, but not always necessary, tool in TR teams. Some Follow Me users, like Smeargle, are just bait for your opponent to waste time on attacking. Others can take a few hits and add to your teams offense. Either way, if your opening pair has TR on one Pokemon, and Follow Me on another, that is nearly a 100% guaranteed way to get TR off, if you are willing to possibly sacrifice a Pokemon. Here is a list of the Follow Me users, with comments and other capabilities:
*Togekiss: This is one helluva Bulky bullet. It's Special Attack is already high enough that you don't need many, if any, SpAtk EV's to make a nice hit. After you set up TR, Togekiss can be used with it's awesome ability Serene Grace and use Body Slam (physical), Air Slash, or Tri-Attack to spread around Flinching and Status. Did I mention it learns Roost? Also note that Tri-Attack is an exclusive XD-Only move.
*Clefable: Another of the few Bulky Follow Me users. Magic Guard, regarded as one of the best abilities in the game, makes it so no outside damaging effect, such as Life Orb, Recoil, Burn do no harm to it. Magic Guard also means that the Moon Pokemon doesn't care about Hail or Sandstorm. After using Follow Me, it can safely use STAB Toxic/Flame Orb Facade, or the standard Ice Beam and Thunderbolt set. Softboiled is also a handy move to have.
*Electivire: ~~PLEASE NOTE THAT FOLLOW ME ELECTIVIRE CAN ONLY BE OBTAINED VIA Pokemon XD~~ If an opponent is throwing around Discharge, and that's a common problem for your team, then have no fear! Even without Follow Me, he can use the Discharge to speed him up so he can be powerful and effective even OUTSIDE of TR! He also brings in the occasional Thunderbolt from Latios if that is it's only attacking move besides Draco Meteor. Note that Electivire is the most frail Follow Me user, other then our final decent one:
*Smeargle: Of course he makes the list! Usually, if Smeargle does not use Fake Out on the first turn, then it will Follow Me and sacrifice itself. If it manages to live, it can fire off either Dark Void or Endevour to effective shutdown or kill an opponents Pokemon.
Okay, so now we know what we are up against. We know what is likely to come, and how it's role is played out in the grand scheme of a TR team. It sounds dangerous, doesn't it? That's because it is. Period. Especially if you are not prepared for it. If you aren't, you lose the game, plain and simple.
What we are going to do now is show you the kinds of things that can counter Trick Room and the nice amount of things that come coupled with this sort of team:
*Taunt: That's right, another single move that counters an entire team! However, if they are running a Follow Me user, then your Taunt becomes completely useless, except for locking Smeargle into Endevour. What's worse: Dark Void, or Endevour?
*Chesto/Lum Berries: This solves the common cold - I mean Dark Void problem. However, keep in mind that you are using 2 item slots to counter 1 move. Sometimes, though, it is completely worth it.
*Imprison: This move stops TR if the Imprison user has it as well. Since TR has a negative Priority, it doesn't matter how fast or slow you are. Beware that only a few Pokemon can learn Imprison, but those Pokemon are often found in TR Teams anyway. See the mind-games and trickery we are getting at?
*Priority Moves: These completely negate TR due to priority. These can be essential to beating said teams Smeargles and other such things. Though, Priority Moves in general are just great.
*Dusknoir: Wow, more of a teams own components can be used to counter it. Run a Dusknoir with Protect, Trick Room, Shadow Punch, and IMPRISON, and you shut down Pokemon with those moves. This puts TR in a bad spot. Plus, it's a Ghost type, so Fake Out can not stop it, unless coming from a Scrappy ability Pokemon, like Kangaskahn.
*Bronzong: This is ironic, isn't it? It actually does the same exact job as the above mentioned Dusknoir, just trading Shadow Punch for Explosion or Gyro Ball. However, beware of Fake Out.
*Snorlax: What better way to counter a TR team then using something that has access to Crunch for Ghosts, and Selfdestruct for everything else? TR teams will not likely be using Protect all the time, since they want you dead in 4 Turns or less. Let the BOOOOOMING begin!
Part one of the Introduction to VGC play
Part three of the Introduction to VGC play
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