If you’re a newbie into Pokémon VGC, chances are you have noticed one slim difference between our matches and the ones from the games: we use Double battles! Having to battle with two Pokémon at the same time while picking 4 out of your 6 team members each game adds lots of new elements and variables to the game. This is one of the main reasons why VGC is so intricate and, if you ask me, fascinating.
In this article, we will cover the key differences between Single and Double battles. They are crucial to know and master, either if you’re new to competitive Pokémon or come from Smogon formats, so read carefully!
Disclaimer: this article refers to some technical words such as core or metagame. If these don’t sound familiar to you, look them up at our VGC glossary.
The Basics of Doubles
Playing with two Pokémon on the field as opposed to just one has some straight-forward implications: you have to think twice each turn, and since your opponents will also have two Pokémon on their side, the number of possible scenarios is doubled as well. This can seem daunting at first, but you will become used to it before you notice.
Another key limitation is thrown to the mix: you can’t bring your entire team to each game. Before a match, players are given 90 seconds to have a look at the opponent’s full team in a process known as Team Preview. During that time, you must evaluate which 4 Pokémon from your team are the best to defeat, potentially, all 6 from your opponent’s. Of course, they will do the same, and are limited to 4 Pokémon as well.
With this in mind, let’s dive deeper into how these new rules condition the way we play in VGC.
Frantic action
Having less Pokémon in your team than usual and attacking with two every turn makes battles to be more agitated than one might expect. This is a double-edged sword, as shorter, more intense battles are more entertaining for the viewers as well.
Having less Pokémon in your team than usual and attacking with two every turn makes battles to be more agitated than one might expect. This is a double-edged sword, as shorter, more intense battles are more entertaining for the viewers as well.In general, VGC battles take about 8 to 10 turns before a player loses its 4 Pokémon. This means that common strategies from Single battles like Toxic or Stealth Rock are less likely to be viable, because they require longer games (that is, more turns) to be effective. This doesn’t mean they’re useless, though: you can use them to patch certain weaknesses of your team, or as a way to slow down the pace of a game. Just try not to center your teams around these strategies.
In a similar fashion, moves that aren’t seen in Singles because they last for a few turns are very popular in VGC. Expect to see players use moves like Tailwind, Reflect or Trick Room almost every game.
No monopoly
While most of these powerful Pokémon are permitted in VGC formats, they rarely sweep entire teams unassisted by some partner Pokémon. This is mainly due two reasons: first, your opponent has two Pokémon on the field, which translates into two chances every turn to attack and defeat these major threats; and second, most of the time these Pokémon will only be able to knock out one Pokémon at a time, allowing the partner to retaliate.There’s always been a few, select Pokémon that dominated and centralized all formats in which they were permitted. And if you are here, chances are you’ve heard about them — Mega-Kangaskhan, Celesteela and Xerneas, to name a few. However, this doesn’t make them unstoppable by any means, as VGC history proves.
Mega-Kangaskhan in 2014Back in 2014, Mega-Kangaskhan dominated all Regional and National Championships thanks to its great stats and sheer power. However, at the 2014 World Championships, Kangaskhan was identified as a major threat, and specific strategies involving two Pokémon (Mega-Mawile and Gothitelle) bursted out to counter it. No Kangaskhan placed within the top 8 players in the world.
The rise and fall of Groudon/Xerneas in 2016A bit later, in 2016, teams with Xerneas and Groudon were nearly unstoppable during the entire season. However, American top-player Wolfe Glick crowned himself World Champion by piloting a team specifically designed to stop that core.
Other players using the same team placed very well at Worlds, too: Markus Stadter and Baris Ackos of Germany ended in 4th and 7th place, respectively; and 2013 Junior World Champion Brendan Zheng got top 8 in Seniors.
No Worlds for Xerneas in 2019Xerneas, arguably one of the best Pokémon in every format it is allowed, fell short of its first championship at 2019 Worlds, the second time it was allowed. Players once again realized it would be a key threat to stop in order to have a shot to win the championship, and only James Baek and Stephen Mea, both from the US, managed to pilot Xerneas into success by placing 3rd and 8th, respecitvely.
Innovation leads to progress
Contrarily to what some people think (usually biased by images of the top teams at a random event popping out in social media), VGC is fairly diverse, and innovation pays a huge role when it comes to making the metagame progress.
As VGC formats are in play for some months (usually, from 8 to 12) before a drastically new one comes into play, ideas and team concepts are put in practice rather than saved up infinitely for the perfect time. When any of these work at a relevant event (let’s say, a Regional Championship), everyone is aware of them quickly, so they become a leading threat in the metagame right afterwards. This leads to players improving or countering them, which, you guessed it, leads to new strategies once again.
New Strategies
A single move to hit them all
Some Pokémon learn moves that hit multiple targets instead of just a chosen one: they can either hit both opponents or all Pokémon on the field (including its partners!). As you may suppose, these moves are key in VGC matches, as being able to take on two threats at once is pretty valuable.
These moves are known as spread moves, because they spread the damage between the two targets. Therefore, when a move able to hit multiple targets is used against two (or three) Pokémon, its power is reduced by 25%. It’s worth noting that if you use one of these moves when the other player has only one Pokémon on the field (because it’s their last one, or the partner just fainted during the same turn), the power is not reduced.
On the physical spectrum of attacks, Rock Slide and Earthquake are two of the most prominent ones, whereas Heat Wave, Hyper Voice and Dazzling Gleam are common from special attackers. We’re currently working on a guide focused on these moves, so keep your eyes out for that!
Where's the speedometer?
Having to beat more threats within less turns usually requires you to control the pace of the game, so you can be the one exerting most pressure and force your opponents to adapt to you.
In order to do so, having the speeds on your side is essential, as they are the parameter that decides who attacks first. Most players opt for some kind of speed control technique, usually executed by one of their bulkier Pokémon. Common strategies include:
In order to do so, having the speeds on your side is essential, as they are the parameter that decides who attacks first. Most players opt for some kind of speed control technique, usually executed by one of their bulkier Pokémon. Common strategies include:- Tailwind, which doubles the speed of all your Pokémon for 4 turns (counting the one you used, so it’s essentially 3 turns).
- Trick Room, a move that disrupts the entire battlefield (affecting all Pokémon) by inverting speeds: the slowest Pokémon now attack first. This lasts for 5 turns (effectively 4 turns, as it will always be the last move on a turn).
- Thunder Wave, a move that inflicts paralysis on a desired target, which halves its speed and could make it impossible for them to attack on random turns (full paralysis). This is uncommon nowadays, but has been a prominent part of VGC history until developers nerfed it in the 7th generation.
- Speed-bosting moves, like Dragon Dance or Quiver Dance, which boost the user’s speed (but do not affect partners or opponents), are also common. While not considered speed control moves, they are great options to take an advantage on your opponents.
Almost all successful teams will count with at least one of these speed control moves. They also pack some tools to disrupt their opponent’s speed control options by:
- Stopping them from controlling speeds: moves like Taunt or Fake Out are effective at disrupting these plans
- Punishing them after setting up: using a move like Encore (which forces the target to repeat its last move for a few turns) or slow Pokémon like Amoonguss when your opponent sets up Trick Room are ideal ways to confront the momentum your opponents gain from controlling the speeds. Another way to penalize your opponents is by activating Trick Room when they set up Tailwind.
- Evening the board: a common practice is to set up Tailwind when your opponent does, which essentially leaves no effect (both teams have their speeds doubled).
Don't be greedy
Strategies based on slowly boosting up your Pokémon succeed in Singles, but they’re way less prominent in VGC (though there have been a few exceptions, notably Snorlax with Curse!). When it comes to doubles and VGC, offensive boosting or boosting multiple stats in one turn is the way to go most of the time: games last less turns, you have less targets to defeat, and you can be hit twice per turn (which doubles your chances of getting hit with a crit and ruining your defensive boosting), so the best defense is a good offense.
This makes moves like the aforementioned Dragon Dance (+1 Attack and Speed) or Quiver Dance (+1 Sp. Attack, Sp. Defense and Speed) relevant and common, and if you want to keep on dancing, Swords Dance (+2 Attack) might be your thing. Other seen strategies are Calm Mind (+1 Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense) and Geomancy (+2 Sp. Attack, Sp. Defense and Speed), to name a few.
Team work
Having two Pokémon on the field allows them to complement each other‘s strengths and diminish their weaknesses, or just power each other up. This happens through moves like Helping Hand, in which one of your Pokémon boosts by 50% its partner’s move on that turn, or abilities such as Friend Guard, which reduces by 25% all damage taken by the partner.
Players will often pair two Pokémon together to abuse of some sort of battlefield condition. For example, you could use a Pelipper with the Drizzle ability, which sets up rain weather, together with Ludicolo with the Swift Swim ability, which doubles its speed under rain. There are a few combos just like that, and pretty shortly an article detailing them will be up on Victory Road.
Move Highlights
Protect, Wide Guard and other defensive strategies
Protect is a major VGC staple and the most used move of all. While infrequent at best in Singles, Pokémon in VGC enjoy being able to safely protect themselves (or almost safely, as Z moves hit through it) for a turn. If a Pokémon doesn’t need to run 4 different moves due to a choice item or something like an Assault Vest, chances are it will run Protect.
Being able to block attacks is interesting as well because players may frequently direct both their attacks towards one target, something we call double target. What if that one Pokémon protects? Then you get nothing from that turn! This situation should show you already why Protect, controlling the field and spread moves are important: it’s all connected!
Another key use of Protect is to stall turns. While we’ve pointed out multiple times that VGC games are short, sometimes all you need is to wait. Wait for your opponent’s Tailwind to end, the Sandstorm to subside or the Trick Room to revert.
Apart from Protect, there are other common moves that allow for defensive plays: Wide Guard protects both your Pokémon from spread attacks that turn, whereas Quick Guard blocks priority moves. The Smeargle on the footage above uses Crafty Shield, a move that blocks status moves aimed at your team, such as Taunt or Spore.
Don't get caught by Fake Out!
A second VGC classic is Fake Out, a move that flinches the target for the turn it’s used as long as the user executes it on its first turn on the field (if you switch out and come back in, you can use it again). In games decided quickly, negating your opponent of a move can make the difference between a won round and a lost round, as you can stop a threat to allow your partner to boost, attack, set up speed or field control, or just safely switch out.
This great utility move is spread across a club of select Pokémon, which are always popular when permitted to use: Mega-Kangaskhan, Incineroar, Togedemaru and Scrafty are some of them.
Follow Me to victory!
Sometimes, all you need to safely execute your game plan is a little help from your partner Pokémon. A few competitively viable Pokémon have access to two key moves: Rage Powder and Follow Me. Its effect is essentially the same: redirect all attacks towards the user, allowing the partner to be safe. They can’t redirect spread attacks, though. Grass and Bug-type Pokémon, as well as those packing the Safety Goggles item, are immune to the effects of Rage Powder.
The most common users of these moves are bulky, supportive Pokémon like Amoonguss, Volcarona and Togekiss, though Smeargle and Pachirisu both had their star moments throughout VGC history while using these moves.
Closing words
If you have read the entire article, chances are you’re ready to smoothly transition into the world of Double battles. We’ve been there for a decade already, so you better embrace them!
This article was written by Victory Road’s staff, but we’d like to credit Aaron Traylor for inspiring it with his article in Nugget Bridge back in 2015.
