Pokemon Analyses
~ Sun Teams
This is a type of team that revolves around the move "Sunny Day," but for the most part is a rarity among the VGC. However, this move can lead to quite a unique team that not most people are ready for. Sun works in almost a similar fashion as Rain, however Rain in general has better Pokemon to cover it's Weak points, whereas Sun Pokemon does not. Most Sun Teams, do in general, have the lovely benefit of being able to OHKO Metagross, even some Occa Berry variants, which is very good since he is one of the most used Pokemon in the game.
*Sunny Day gives a 1.5x boost to Fire attacks, so Fire Blast, and especially Overheat, become supremely deadly. Let's take Fire Blast. This is a common move in VGC anyway, so lucky you. Fire Blast in the Sun has a Base Power of 180, and Fire Pokemon get a STAB Bonus, so a power of 240. Overheat jumps up to a whopping 280 in the same conditions, and still 210 without being a Fire-type Pokemon.
*Sunny Day, as stated above in the Rain Section, is almost a perfect counter to Rain Teams. The one major flaw is that the only 2 types of Pokemon that can thrive in this condition are Grass and Fire, which Rain has Ice Beam and Hydro Pump to dispatch both. Since not many Fire or Grass type Pokemon have a defensive type that covers it's other base, such as Ludicolo's typing to give it neutrality to almost everything.
*Heat Wave thrives in the sun. Not only does it hit both opponents, and has a good chance of Burning at least one of them, but now it is even more powerful. This is another popular VGC move, since things that hit both opponents are quite beneficial.
*Sun cuts the power of Water-type moves in half, more or less taking away the STAB of those pesky Pokemon that "Counter" your Sun. This means that the what was threatening Base Power of a STABbed, Rain boosted Hydro Pump drops down from 240 to 120 again. A huge, and most likely, life saving, difference.
*The sun also gives us a few other nifty advantages, which will be lumped into this small section. All Pokemon that become Frozen are immediately thawed out, all Pokemon with the Leaf Guard ability can not be afflicted with deadly Status, the ability Chlorophyll DOUBLES the users Speed, Thunder's accuracy drops to an abysmal 50%, and Solarbeam no longer takes a turn to charge up. This also activates the rare ability Solar Power, which gives you a 50% boost in power, while stripping off 10% of your health each turn.
Sun, being a rarity in VGC format, can surprise your opponents and win matches with the surprise factor. Just don't do something dumb and lump your entire team with pure Grass-type Pokemon, since Sunny Day makes their Fire Weakness more of a liability then it does make them more powerful through use of abilities and moves.
Sunny Day teams can have an awesome assortment of Pokemon, but we will narrow the field down to some of the more common ones. Note that some of these Pokemon may be used out of Sunny Day and be just as effective.
*Exeggutor: This Pokemon has a field day in the sun! Not only can it double it's speed via Chlorophyll, which is a good thing because it's speed is terrible, but it can also unleash some nifty Status effects, use STAB Solarbeam, and even Explode!
*Shiftry: This will usually be the standard lead for most Sun teams, with access to Fake Out, Chlorophyll, Explosion, and nice high attack stats in both areas. This can be one threatening Pokemon, especially with the lovable Dark-typing to put a hurting on Ghosts and Psychics.
*Ludicolo: Though both of it's abilities rely on the Rain, it can be just as useful in the Sun. With STAB Solarbeam, Fake Out, Leech Seed, and other moves, he can be a real pain to your opponent.
*Cherrim: Cherrim has a unique ability in the form of Flower Gift, which, while in play, raises it's own and partners Special Defense and Attack by 50% each, or x1.5. The SpDef boost is wonderful for Pokemon such as Exeggutor, who already has a great Base Defense but poor SpDef. Also, the Attack raise helps a wide variety of Pokemon, like Arcanine, the already bulky Snorlax, and Infernape, who enjoys having even MORE Attack then he already has.
*Infernape: Thought we forgot about Fire-type Pokemon? Nonsense! Infernape is usually run with Focus Sash, with Fake Out and hard-hitting STAB moves. What not many realize is that Infernape can fill many unique niches in all teams, especially in Sun. Let's say, Fake Out, Feint, Vacuum Wave/Protect/Endevour, and Heat Wave. He can break a Protect user, have your ally used Explosion, hang on with a Sash, and start spamming STABbed, Blaze and Sun boosted Heat Waves. Difficult to pull off with Feint, but quite possibly the most rewarding moves in the game if used successfully. Not a set for beginners, though!
*Moltres: One of the only Fire-Type Pokemon immune to the omni-present Earthquake, but giving it a 4x Weakness to Rock moves. Air Slash, Solarbeam, a variety of Fire-type moves, as well as Status Moves, and Roosting make this Pokemon second to only Ho-oh!
*Heatran: I just HAVE to mention this fire-frog! Heatran has a massive amount of options for moves, and just gets stronger in the Sun. With Shuca Berry attached, you make it so you have only ONE Weakness to uncommon Fighting-Type moves! Plus, if an opponent tries to make use of your Sun, Heatran makes a superb switch-in with it's Flash Fire ability. Not to mention, that this too can Explode!
Honestly, the list could go on and on and on. Like i said, many things can be put into a Sun team. Leafeon, Tangrowth, etc etc etc can all go in here, but you can use your imagination and find out what best suits you. Not to mention that these components can even work without Sun, making them all the more dangerous! Another unique thing to note is that quite a few Chlorophyll, or Grass-types in general are slow. Possible combos with Trick Room? Maybe, but that is a lot of setup for such a small amount of time.
But with so many options and so many Pokemon, how can you counter such a team? Believe it or not, it's actually easier then you may think.
*Predictability: Sun components, while many, are more often then not holding a very predictable moveset, especially once an opponent figures you out. However, you can flip this "burden of knowledge" that your opponent has to your advantage, but you must be very skilled.
*Rain Dance: What Sun does to Rain, Rain also does to Sun. This is troublesome both ways, and can often lead to "who can keep their weather up," but during that time, can also leave a Trainer wide-open. Sometimes you just have to know when to go straight for the throat.
*Sandstorm/Hail: Both of these weather effects cancle out your Sun, but you more often then not have the upper-hand if this happens. Remember, you are usually packing Fire and Grass Pokemon, that destroy Grass, Ice, Steel, Rock and Ground Pokemon.
*Abomasnow: Once again, a single Pokemon to annoy and disrupt an entire team. Though he sports a very ugly 4x Weakness to Fire, he also sports a 2x resistance to Grass, and packs a now 100% accurate Blizzard to kill some Grass Pokemon. Beware of using this Pokemon on both offense and defense.
~ Hail Teams
Hail Teams are, obviously enough, teams that like the move Hail, or rely on the oh-so-famous Abomasnow's Snow Warning ability, which makes the Hail never end. Unlike Sun and Rain, Hail does not affect an Ice moves power. It still activates some abilities, and has a bonus of dealing 1/16th damage to all non-Ice-Type Pokemon on the field. As you well know by now, Hail raises the move Blizzard's accuracy to 100%, and can maybe give you some freezing goodness. Let's see some of what Hail can do, and some general information about Ice-Type Pokemon:
*Hail reduces the recovery rate of moves such as Synthesis, Moonlight, and other things. Roost and Recover are unaffected.
*Hail, as stated, does 1/16 damage to all non-Ice-Type Pokemon at the end of a turn. This immediately ruins any Focus Sash, except for maybe Weavile. This could also help, over time, bring Pokemon into KO range.
*Hail activates the following abilities: Snow Cloak (+20% Evasion) and Ice Body (Restores 12.5% of HP). It also, of course, raises Blizzards accuracy to 100%, just like Thunder in the Rain.
*Be careful! Ice is a bad Defensive type. It takes Super Effective hits from popular Attack Types in the form of Rock Slide, Heat Wave, and the deadly Meteor Mash. The only thing it resists is other Ice attacks.
* However, Ice is a lovely Attacking Type, being the only type to hit Dragons for Super Effective damage, except for other Dragon moves. Ice is 4x Super Effective on all fully-evolved Dragon-types though, so it has the advantage there. This also harms pesky Grass and Flying types that are scattered throughout the Metagame, which is a big plus. It is also home to STAB Priority move Ice Shard! This is a physical attack though, which may only be useful on Weavile and Mamoswine. *NOTE: Blizzard in Hail DOES NOT break Protect. This is a common misconception due to the glitch that allowed it to do so on Diamond and Pearl. This has been fixed on Platinum and Battle Revolution.
There's a bit of information about Ice-Types and Hail. There's not much to tell. That being said, there are not many Pokemon that can work effectively on a Hail Team, which is not very popular anyway. Here is what you can expect to run in to: *Abomasnow: I don't have to explain, really. He automatically sets up Hail, and boasts a nice Special Attack stat to abuse the lovable 100% accurate Blizzard. Leech Seed and Ice Shard are nice moves as well, as well as access to Ice Shard to finish off Focus Sashers.
*Weavile: Usually running as a lead with Fake Out, he works on the Physical side of the spectrum, which is rare for Ice. He isn't too common on Hail teams, but he deserves a mention for being one of the few Pokemon to be able to run a Focus sash, massive Speed and Attack, and not suffer from Hail's damage.
*Glaceon: While slow, this Pokemon has a massive 130 Base Special Attack, the most powerful STAB Special Attacker Ice has to offer. It also boasts a lovable, yet undermined, 110 Base Defense, which not many people remember. Plus, as a Bonus, it has Snow Cloak! It is a bit slow, though, so you may want to run Icy Wind or Thunder Wave on some Pokemon to help with it's longevity. Bright Poweder, Choice Scarf, and other items can help this Pokemon as well. Given the proper EV's, this little baby can live through the most powerful attacks, noting Infernapes Close Combat and Flare Blitz especially.
*Mamoswine: Oh yea, baby. Sporting a huge Attack Stat for Priority STAB Ice Shard is a wonderful thing, especially for something that is not the fastest in the world. It also has a nice Base HP, and decent Defenses in general. Plus, STAB Earthquake is a good thing, no matter what people say. Ice Shard busts Flying Types and most Levitators that spoil your fun with that, so no worries.
See? Not much to it. Hail teams are simple to build, operate, and even get around, if you know the movesets. Abomasnow can be especially threatening. Is it a Bulky Leech Seeder, or is it a high-powered Blizzard spammer? Or does it like to combine a few things and pound away with Wood Hammer? No worries, it can be fixed up and countered.
*Plentiful Weaknesses: Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel. All popular attacking types in the VGC, and both Fighting and Steel have Priority moves to be careful of, and Fire and Rock can multi-hit 2 Ice-typed opponents at once..
*Predictable Pokemon and Moves: That pretty much says it right there. Pretty much all Hail Pokemon not named Abomasnow will have quite predicable sets. The only surprise coming from Special Attackers will be Hidden Power, which could be a problem.
*Weather Change: Taking away Blizzards 100% Accuracy harms the most common used Special move on Hail Teams, and likely most of the teams power. *Pressure: Yes, another way to hurt Hail Teams is to Pressure away Blizzard's minor 8 PP. Put in a Pressure Pokemon like Dusknoir paired with a resistant Pokemon like Metagross, and Blizzard loses much of it's power.
*Rain Teams: Possibly the worst match-up for Hail Teams. Not only does Water resist Ice, but Ice Pokemon generally do not have Super Effective moves for Water Pokemon as well. It's a good thing that Ludicolo and Kingdra are both neutral to Ice, or you would be in big trouble. Sunny Day falls into this category as well, but is even worse due to Fire being Super Effective on Ice-Types.
~ Sandstorm Teams
Teams that revolve exclusively around Sandstorm are generally inferior to the other weather teams and do ok against Trick Room. the reason is that Hippowdon is the only Pokemon who can start a Sandstorm team on turn one with Sandstream, it's ability. Nevertheless, sometimes a sandstorm team can be used to some success. Sand Veil, especially on Garchomp, raises evasiveness by 20%, which can sometimes win the game for you. Rock, Steel, and Ground types are immune to the damage that Sandstorm brings (1/16 damage of a Pokemon's full HP, just like Hail), and Rock types also get a Sp. Defense boost during Sandstorm (50%). Sandstorm has the same effect as Hail on Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis. If there is a level 50 Tyranitar event, sandstorm usage will probably go up and become more popular because Tyranitar brings so many options to the table. Until then however, Sandstorm teams will stay near the bottom of the list of teams viable in VGC.
Some popular seen Pokemon in a sandstorm team are: Hippowdon, Yanmega, Garchomp, Rhyperior, Metagross, Cresselia, Heatran, Salamence, Zapdos, Regirock, Aerodactyl and Scizor.
Generally, when someone uses a Sandstorm team, they are forced to use Hippowdon for starting it with it's ability Sandstream, since Tyranitar is not currently allowed in VGC play because of it's evolution level limitations. It's partner is also usually immune to Earthquake; that allows Hippowdon to Earthquake freely without worrying about hitting it's partner. Sand Veil is a beneficial ability in Sandstorm, since it boosts that pokemon's evasion by 20%; moves that normally had 100% accuracy now only have 80% accuracy; that's a big difference! This can sometimes be deadly with pokemon like GArchomp out on the field, because if a move missed it, it could then in turn kill you with a powerful attack.
Sandstorm is also used for 'stalling' purposes; while sandstorm is in play, any pokemon that is not Rock/Steel/Ground type and doesn't have Sand Veil/Magic Guard has their HP reduced by 1/16th of their max HP. This eliminates most Focus Sash, just like Hail, plus after a few turns sometimes allows for crucial KOs after you've chipped away at their HP by a little bit. this can mean a world of difference for pokemon like Zapdos or Garchomp since they often will just miss KOs on opponents with their powerful attacks.
An added benefit Sandstorm gives is that any Rock type has their Sp. Defense raised by 50% while Sandstorm is in play! Only thing is that there are very few pokemon that are Rock type that are seen in VGC to take advantage of it. Rhyperior and Regirock are mostly the only ones seen on a somewhat regular basis.
~ Goodstuff Teams
This is quite the odd ball out, but is actually very popular. Goodstuff teams are pretty much just Good Pokemon that work well together to achieve the common goal of winning a match. There is a plethora of Pokemon that can be used on Goodstuff teams, so long as they don't counteract each other. For example, you don't want to use Earthquake every turn if your ally is weak to, or can plain be hit, by it. The same thing goes for moves like Discharge and Explosion. We can give you some examples of Pokemon seen in Goodstuff teams, but going into detail will just bring out redundant explanations:
*Snorlax, Metagross, Zapdos, Gyrados, Arcanine, Infernape, Ambipom, Weavile, Cresselia, Crobat, Dusknoir, Shedinja, Smeargle with Dark Void, and tons of other things.
There really is no way to "Counter" or "shut down" Goodstuff Teams, other then to have your own well-trained and put together team. You just have to try and move forward with your battle plans and strategies, and sometimes use Substitutes to to help you turn an ugly loss into a glorified win.
~ Anti-Trick Room
Yes. A team built whose sole purpose is to spot Trick Room. That's how scary Trick Room can be for some people. This can be considered a "branch team" from Goodstuff Teams. There isn't much Pokemon detail to go into, but you can always figure what a Lead Set will have:
*Double Dual-Hitters: This means things that carry moves like Heat Wave, Earthquake, Discharge, Eruption, and so on. This can even be extended to Icy Wind, but why lower a Pokemons Speed when they want their Speed as low as possible anyway? *Anti-setup: This is basically a Lead Set of Pokemon who can Taunt, Fake Out, or both. *Imprison: This was mentioned earlier, but Trick Room has a negative Priority. A Pokemon using Imprison who has Trick Room means that, even if they have a Follow Me user, Trick Room is destined to fail. *Smeargle: If you see this at Level 50 without a Dusknoir or a Trick Room user paired with it, you can almost always depend on it having Choice Scarf and Dark Void. This doesn't always work due to accuracy issues, and the fact that the TR User usually carries a Lum/Chesto Berry, but it can be effective.
Anti-Trick Room teams are strong against TR. That's what the team is made for. However, this actually more often then not leaves the team open for a spew of other attackers. That being said, there is no need to have a Counters list up, as almost anything can do if you know what you are dealing with.
The Wrap-Up
Singles does have it's fun side sometimes, changing over from Ubers to Non-Ubers, but it more often then not can become stale, no matter how you play. VGC is so varied, and from the looks of things, ever-changing and ever-evolving. This alone can be called what sets it apart from Singles. When new Pokemon are introduced, teams can flourish while others become obsolete. Hey, this can even happen when a new MOVE is introduced. However, when everything is said and done, it comes down to personal preferance. Some people just love Singles, some people just love VGC. Some people switch between the two just to keep their mind sharp, or to figure out how a Pokemon may have changed. All in all, I would say that if you haven't given VGC a try, you really should do it. This style of play actually kept people from quitting Pokemon all together, it's just that interesting and varied. Just remember, that whatever you play, make sure your playing that way because it is what you find the most fun.
Part one of the Introduction to VGC play
Part two of the Introduction to VGC play
~ Sun Teams
This is a type of team that revolves around the move "Sunny Day," but for the most part is a rarity among the VGC. However, this move can lead to quite a unique team that not most people are ready for. Sun works in almost a similar fashion as Rain, however Rain in general has better Pokemon to cover it's Weak points, whereas Sun Pokemon does not. Most Sun Teams, do in general, have the lovely benefit of being able to OHKO Metagross, even some Occa Berry variants, which is very good since he is one of the most used Pokemon in the game.
*Sunny Day gives a 1.5x boost to Fire attacks, so Fire Blast, and especially Overheat, become supremely deadly. Let's take Fire Blast. This is a common move in VGC anyway, so lucky you. Fire Blast in the Sun has a Base Power of 180, and Fire Pokemon get a STAB Bonus, so a power of 240. Overheat jumps up to a whopping 280 in the same conditions, and still 210 without being a Fire-type Pokemon.
*Sunny Day, as stated above in the Rain Section, is almost a perfect counter to Rain Teams. The one major flaw is that the only 2 types of Pokemon that can thrive in this condition are Grass and Fire, which Rain has Ice Beam and Hydro Pump to dispatch both. Since not many Fire or Grass type Pokemon have a defensive type that covers it's other base, such as Ludicolo's typing to give it neutrality to almost everything.
*Heat Wave thrives in the sun. Not only does it hit both opponents, and has a good chance of Burning at least one of them, but now it is even more powerful. This is another popular VGC move, since things that hit both opponents are quite beneficial.
*Sun cuts the power of Water-type moves in half, more or less taking away the STAB of those pesky Pokemon that "Counter" your Sun. This means that the what was threatening Base Power of a STABbed, Rain boosted Hydro Pump drops down from 240 to 120 again. A huge, and most likely, life saving, difference.
*The sun also gives us a few other nifty advantages, which will be lumped into this small section. All Pokemon that become Frozen are immediately thawed out, all Pokemon with the Leaf Guard ability can not be afflicted with deadly Status, the ability Chlorophyll DOUBLES the users Speed, Thunder's accuracy drops to an abysmal 50%, and Solarbeam no longer takes a turn to charge up. This also activates the rare ability Solar Power, which gives you a 50% boost in power, while stripping off 10% of your health each turn.
Sun, being a rarity in VGC format, can surprise your opponents and win matches with the surprise factor. Just don't do something dumb and lump your entire team with pure Grass-type Pokemon, since Sunny Day makes their Fire Weakness more of a liability then it does make them more powerful through use of abilities and moves.
Sunny Day teams can have an awesome assortment of Pokemon, but we will narrow the field down to some of the more common ones. Note that some of these Pokemon may be used out of Sunny Day and be just as effective.
*Exeggutor: This Pokemon has a field day in the sun! Not only can it double it's speed via Chlorophyll, which is a good thing because it's speed is terrible, but it can also unleash some nifty Status effects, use STAB Solarbeam, and even Explode!
*Shiftry: This will usually be the standard lead for most Sun teams, with access to Fake Out, Chlorophyll, Explosion, and nice high attack stats in both areas. This can be one threatening Pokemon, especially with the lovable Dark-typing to put a hurting on Ghosts and Psychics.
*Ludicolo: Though both of it's abilities rely on the Rain, it can be just as useful in the Sun. With STAB Solarbeam, Fake Out, Leech Seed, and other moves, he can be a real pain to your opponent.
*Cherrim: Cherrim has a unique ability in the form of Flower Gift, which, while in play, raises it's own and partners Special Defense and Attack by 50% each, or x1.5. The SpDef boost is wonderful for Pokemon such as Exeggutor, who already has a great Base Defense but poor SpDef. Also, the Attack raise helps a wide variety of Pokemon, like Arcanine, the already bulky Snorlax, and Infernape, who enjoys having even MORE Attack then he already has.
*Infernape: Thought we forgot about Fire-type Pokemon? Nonsense! Infernape is usually run with Focus Sash, with Fake Out and hard-hitting STAB moves. What not many realize is that Infernape can fill many unique niches in all teams, especially in Sun. Let's say, Fake Out, Feint, Vacuum Wave/Protect/Endevour, and Heat Wave. He can break a Protect user, have your ally used Explosion, hang on with a Sash, and start spamming STABbed, Blaze and Sun boosted Heat Waves. Difficult to pull off with Feint, but quite possibly the most rewarding moves in the game if used successfully. Not a set for beginners, though!
*Moltres: One of the only Fire-Type Pokemon immune to the omni-present Earthquake, but giving it a 4x Weakness to Rock moves. Air Slash, Solarbeam, a variety of Fire-type moves, as well as Status Moves, and Roosting make this Pokemon second to only Ho-oh!
*Heatran: I just HAVE to mention this fire-frog! Heatran has a massive amount of options for moves, and just gets stronger in the Sun. With Shuca Berry attached, you make it so you have only ONE Weakness to uncommon Fighting-Type moves! Plus, if an opponent tries to make use of your Sun, Heatran makes a superb switch-in with it's Flash Fire ability. Not to mention, that this too can Explode!
Honestly, the list could go on and on and on. Like i said, many things can be put into a Sun team. Leafeon, Tangrowth, etc etc etc can all go in here, but you can use your imagination and find out what best suits you. Not to mention that these components can even work without Sun, making them all the more dangerous! Another unique thing to note is that quite a few Chlorophyll, or Grass-types in general are slow. Possible combos with Trick Room? Maybe, but that is a lot of setup for such a small amount of time.
But with so many options and so many Pokemon, how can you counter such a team? Believe it or not, it's actually easier then you may think.
*Predictability: Sun components, while many, are more often then not holding a very predictable moveset, especially once an opponent figures you out. However, you can flip this "burden of knowledge" that your opponent has to your advantage, but you must be very skilled.
*Rain Dance: What Sun does to Rain, Rain also does to Sun. This is troublesome both ways, and can often lead to "who can keep their weather up," but during that time, can also leave a Trainer wide-open. Sometimes you just have to know when to go straight for the throat.
*Sandstorm/Hail: Both of these weather effects cancle out your Sun, but you more often then not have the upper-hand if this happens. Remember, you are usually packing Fire and Grass Pokemon, that destroy Grass, Ice, Steel, Rock and Ground Pokemon.
*Abomasnow: Once again, a single Pokemon to annoy and disrupt an entire team. Though he sports a very ugly 4x Weakness to Fire, he also sports a 2x resistance to Grass, and packs a now 100% accurate Blizzard to kill some Grass Pokemon. Beware of using this Pokemon on both offense and defense.
~ Hail Teams
Hail Teams are, obviously enough, teams that like the move Hail, or rely on the oh-so-famous Abomasnow's Snow Warning ability, which makes the Hail never end. Unlike Sun and Rain, Hail does not affect an Ice moves power. It still activates some abilities, and has a bonus of dealing 1/16th damage to all non-Ice-Type Pokemon on the field. As you well know by now, Hail raises the move Blizzard's accuracy to 100%, and can maybe give you some freezing goodness. Let's see some of what Hail can do, and some general information about Ice-Type Pokemon:
*Hail reduces the recovery rate of moves such as Synthesis, Moonlight, and other things. Roost and Recover are unaffected.
*Hail, as stated, does 1/16 damage to all non-Ice-Type Pokemon at the end of a turn. This immediately ruins any Focus Sash, except for maybe Weavile. This could also help, over time, bring Pokemon into KO range.
*Hail activates the following abilities: Snow Cloak (+20% Evasion) and Ice Body (Restores 12.5% of HP). It also, of course, raises Blizzards accuracy to 100%, just like Thunder in the Rain.
*Be careful! Ice is a bad Defensive type. It takes Super Effective hits from popular Attack Types in the form of Rock Slide, Heat Wave, and the deadly Meteor Mash. The only thing it resists is other Ice attacks.
* However, Ice is a lovely Attacking Type, being the only type to hit Dragons for Super Effective damage, except for other Dragon moves. Ice is 4x Super Effective on all fully-evolved Dragon-types though, so it has the advantage there. This also harms pesky Grass and Flying types that are scattered throughout the Metagame, which is a big plus. It is also home to STAB Priority move Ice Shard! This is a physical attack though, which may only be useful on Weavile and Mamoswine. *NOTE: Blizzard in Hail DOES NOT break Protect. This is a common misconception due to the glitch that allowed it to do so on Diamond and Pearl. This has been fixed on Platinum and Battle Revolution.
There's a bit of information about Ice-Types and Hail. There's not much to tell. That being said, there are not many Pokemon that can work effectively on a Hail Team, which is not very popular anyway. Here is what you can expect to run in to: *Abomasnow: I don't have to explain, really. He automatically sets up Hail, and boasts a nice Special Attack stat to abuse the lovable 100% accurate Blizzard. Leech Seed and Ice Shard are nice moves as well, as well as access to Ice Shard to finish off Focus Sashers.
*Weavile: Usually running as a lead with Fake Out, he works on the Physical side of the spectrum, which is rare for Ice. He isn't too common on Hail teams, but he deserves a mention for being one of the few Pokemon to be able to run a Focus sash, massive Speed and Attack, and not suffer from Hail's damage.
*Glaceon: While slow, this Pokemon has a massive 130 Base Special Attack, the most powerful STAB Special Attacker Ice has to offer. It also boasts a lovable, yet undermined, 110 Base Defense, which not many people remember. Plus, as a Bonus, it has Snow Cloak! It is a bit slow, though, so you may want to run Icy Wind or Thunder Wave on some Pokemon to help with it's longevity. Bright Poweder, Choice Scarf, and other items can help this Pokemon as well. Given the proper EV's, this little baby can live through the most powerful attacks, noting Infernapes Close Combat and Flare Blitz especially.
*Mamoswine: Oh yea, baby. Sporting a huge Attack Stat for Priority STAB Ice Shard is a wonderful thing, especially for something that is not the fastest in the world. It also has a nice Base HP, and decent Defenses in general. Plus, STAB Earthquake is a good thing, no matter what people say. Ice Shard busts Flying Types and most Levitators that spoil your fun with that, so no worries.
See? Not much to it. Hail teams are simple to build, operate, and even get around, if you know the movesets. Abomasnow can be especially threatening. Is it a Bulky Leech Seeder, or is it a high-powered Blizzard spammer? Or does it like to combine a few things and pound away with Wood Hammer? No worries, it can be fixed up and countered.
*Plentiful Weaknesses: Fire, Fighting, Rock, and Steel. All popular attacking types in the VGC, and both Fighting and Steel have Priority moves to be careful of, and Fire and Rock can multi-hit 2 Ice-typed opponents at once..
*Predictable Pokemon and Moves: That pretty much says it right there. Pretty much all Hail Pokemon not named Abomasnow will have quite predicable sets. The only surprise coming from Special Attackers will be Hidden Power, which could be a problem.
*Weather Change: Taking away Blizzards 100% Accuracy harms the most common used Special move on Hail Teams, and likely most of the teams power. *Pressure: Yes, another way to hurt Hail Teams is to Pressure away Blizzard's minor 8 PP. Put in a Pressure Pokemon like Dusknoir paired with a resistant Pokemon like Metagross, and Blizzard loses much of it's power.
*Rain Teams: Possibly the worst match-up for Hail Teams. Not only does Water resist Ice, but Ice Pokemon generally do not have Super Effective moves for Water Pokemon as well. It's a good thing that Ludicolo and Kingdra are both neutral to Ice, or you would be in big trouble. Sunny Day falls into this category as well, but is even worse due to Fire being Super Effective on Ice-Types.
~ Sandstorm Teams
Teams that revolve exclusively around Sandstorm are generally inferior to the other weather teams and do ok against Trick Room. the reason is that Hippowdon is the only Pokemon who can start a Sandstorm team on turn one with Sandstream, it's ability. Nevertheless, sometimes a sandstorm team can be used to some success. Sand Veil, especially on Garchomp, raises evasiveness by 20%, which can sometimes win the game for you. Rock, Steel, and Ground types are immune to the damage that Sandstorm brings (1/16 damage of a Pokemon's full HP, just like Hail), and Rock types also get a Sp. Defense boost during Sandstorm (50%). Sandstorm has the same effect as Hail on Moonlight, Morning Sun, and Synthesis. If there is a level 50 Tyranitar event, sandstorm usage will probably go up and become more popular because Tyranitar brings so many options to the table. Until then however, Sandstorm teams will stay near the bottom of the list of teams viable in VGC.
Some popular seen Pokemon in a sandstorm team are: Hippowdon, Yanmega, Garchomp, Rhyperior, Metagross, Cresselia, Heatran, Salamence, Zapdos, Regirock, Aerodactyl and Scizor.
Generally, when someone uses a Sandstorm team, they are forced to use Hippowdon for starting it with it's ability Sandstream, since Tyranitar is not currently allowed in VGC play because of it's evolution level limitations. It's partner is also usually immune to Earthquake; that allows Hippowdon to Earthquake freely without worrying about hitting it's partner. Sand Veil is a beneficial ability in Sandstorm, since it boosts that pokemon's evasion by 20%; moves that normally had 100% accuracy now only have 80% accuracy; that's a big difference! This can sometimes be deadly with pokemon like GArchomp out on the field, because if a move missed it, it could then in turn kill you with a powerful attack.
Sandstorm is also used for 'stalling' purposes; while sandstorm is in play, any pokemon that is not Rock/Steel/Ground type and doesn't have Sand Veil/Magic Guard has their HP reduced by 1/16th of their max HP. This eliminates most Focus Sash, just like Hail, plus after a few turns sometimes allows for crucial KOs after you've chipped away at their HP by a little bit. this can mean a world of difference for pokemon like Zapdos or Garchomp since they often will just miss KOs on opponents with their powerful attacks.
An added benefit Sandstorm gives is that any Rock type has their Sp. Defense raised by 50% while Sandstorm is in play! Only thing is that there are very few pokemon that are Rock type that are seen in VGC to take advantage of it. Rhyperior and Regirock are mostly the only ones seen on a somewhat regular basis.
~ Goodstuff Teams
This is quite the odd ball out, but is actually very popular. Goodstuff teams are pretty much just Good Pokemon that work well together to achieve the common goal of winning a match. There is a plethora of Pokemon that can be used on Goodstuff teams, so long as they don't counteract each other. For example, you don't want to use Earthquake every turn if your ally is weak to, or can plain be hit, by it. The same thing goes for moves like Discharge and Explosion. We can give you some examples of Pokemon seen in Goodstuff teams, but going into detail will just bring out redundant explanations:
*Snorlax, Metagross, Zapdos, Gyrados, Arcanine, Infernape, Ambipom, Weavile, Cresselia, Crobat, Dusknoir, Shedinja, Smeargle with Dark Void, and tons of other things.
There really is no way to "Counter" or "shut down" Goodstuff Teams, other then to have your own well-trained and put together team. You just have to try and move forward with your battle plans and strategies, and sometimes use Substitutes to to help you turn an ugly loss into a glorified win.
~ Anti-Trick Room
Yes. A team built whose sole purpose is to spot Trick Room. That's how scary Trick Room can be for some people. This can be considered a "branch team" from Goodstuff Teams. There isn't much Pokemon detail to go into, but you can always figure what a Lead Set will have:
*Double Dual-Hitters: This means things that carry moves like Heat Wave, Earthquake, Discharge, Eruption, and so on. This can even be extended to Icy Wind, but why lower a Pokemons Speed when they want their Speed as low as possible anyway? *Anti-setup: This is basically a Lead Set of Pokemon who can Taunt, Fake Out, or both. *Imprison: This was mentioned earlier, but Trick Room has a negative Priority. A Pokemon using Imprison who has Trick Room means that, even if they have a Follow Me user, Trick Room is destined to fail. *Smeargle: If you see this at Level 50 without a Dusknoir or a Trick Room user paired with it, you can almost always depend on it having Choice Scarf and Dark Void. This doesn't always work due to accuracy issues, and the fact that the TR User usually carries a Lum/Chesto Berry, but it can be effective.
Anti-Trick Room teams are strong against TR. That's what the team is made for. However, this actually more often then not leaves the team open for a spew of other attackers. That being said, there is no need to have a Counters list up, as almost anything can do if you know what you are dealing with.
The Wrap-Up
Singles does have it's fun side sometimes, changing over from Ubers to Non-Ubers, but it more often then not can become stale, no matter how you play. VGC is so varied, and from the looks of things, ever-changing and ever-evolving. This alone can be called what sets it apart from Singles. When new Pokemon are introduced, teams can flourish while others become obsolete. Hey, this can even happen when a new MOVE is introduced. However, when everything is said and done, it comes down to personal preferance. Some people just love Singles, some people just love VGC. Some people switch between the two just to keep their mind sharp, or to figure out how a Pokemon may have changed. All in all, I would say that if you haven't given VGC a try, you really should do it. This style of play actually kept people from quitting Pokemon all together, it's just that interesting and varied. Just remember, that whatever you play, make sure your playing that way because it is what you find the most fun.
Part one of the Introduction to VGC play
Part two of the Introduction to VGC play
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