Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Thank you for your interest, Halcyon! I would like to introduce you to the Overview I have written: http://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/doubles-overview-replays-ev-benchmarks.3488976/ A lot of the stuff is transferable to XY. Wide Guard and Quick Guard can be used consecutively without fail now. Rage Powder / Follow Me has also been nerfed a bit, because its priority has been reduced to +2