Written by Professor Birch with assistance from Chenkovsky and gamer boy
Introduction:
Hello! If you are reading this, you are most likely ready to build or stuck with building a VGC team. In this article, I will explain some team archetypes (or strategies) as well as include some examples of Pokemon that work well in each (these are not teams). Hopefully, when you have finished reading, you will be able to use what you have learned to finish that treasured team of yours. Enjoy!
Sun:
This season, many teams are focused around the sun setter, Mega Charizard Y. Because weather effects now dissipate after 5 turns, you may also opt to use a Pokemon with Sunny Day instead. The main effects that will be taken advantage of are 50% reduction to Water-type moves, 50% boost to Fire-type moves, and the activation of Chlorophyll. In addition, Solarbeam does not need a turn to charge. The main abuser this season is Venusaur, as it synergizes well with Charizard. Also, the ability Harvest gets boosted in the sun and has a 100% chance of restoring a consumed berry. Trevenant is a good user of this and can infinitely restore a Sitrus berry. A downside, though, is that because Fire-type moves are boosted, the Grass-types on these teams suffer or risk getting KOed by these moves. Nonetheless, sun is still a great framework to build a VGC team around.
Rain:
Following sun comes the rain team and the main rain bringer, Politoed. As with sun teams, you can opt to use a Pokemon with Rain Dance instead. In rain, Fire-types moves are reduced 50% power while Water-type moves boosted by 50%, and Thunder and Hurricane have 100% accuracy. In addition, Swift Swim Pokemon get their Speed doubled and Rain Dish heals 1/16th of total HP every turn. There are quite a few viable Swift Swim users, a great example of which is Kingdra. Ludicolo's unique typing and nice bulk make it a great user of Rain Dish, and it also has the ability to utilize Swift Swim thanks to it being another one of Ludicolo's abilities. However, rain users must be ward, as a lot of them are Water-type Pokemon and Thunder has 100% accuracy in rain. Otherwise, rain is a solid option for those new to weather.
Hail:
This is the third type of weather, with the main setter being Abomasnow, who has the ability Snow Warning. Once again, you can opt to use a Pokemon with hail instead. In hail, every Pokemon that is not an Ice-type will take damage each turn. Also, Blizzard becomes a 100% accurate move and two hail oriented abilities are activated: Ice Body and Snow Cloak. Ice Body heals 1/16th of a Pokemon's total HP each turn in hail (much like Rain Dish in rain), and Snow Cloak raises the users evasiveness by 20%. Generally, hail is used more as a counter to other weather teams than as a weather-based team itself. It does not have any major effects, and because neither Ice-type Pokemon are common nor Pokemon with those Ice Body and Snow Cloak are common, it makes it an even playing field. Overall, hail is the least common form of weather and is arguably the hardest to run.
Sand:
Last but not least, the fourth type of weather is sand. There are two main viable setters for sand, Tyranitar and Hippowdon. Tyranitar has a crippling 4x weakness to Fighting-types but is a very solid Pokemon overall. Hippowdon does not have a 4x weakness and is more on the tanky stall side. As with the other weather types, you may once again decide to use a setter with the move Sandstorm instead of either of these two. Bringing up a sandstorm does have a good number of effects: Pokemon that are not Rock-, Ground-, or Steel-type will take damage each turn, Rock-type Pokemon have a 50% increase in their Special Defense, Solar Beam has a slight decrease in power, and the three sand oriented abilities are activated, Sand Rush, Sand Force, and Sand Veil, are activated. Sand Rush doubles Speed, Sand Force increases the power of all Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves by one stage, and Sand Veil increase evasiveness by 20%. Sand is a great weather archetype for both new and experienced with weather.
Trick Room:
Trick Room reverses the order in which Pokemon move for five turns. Therefore, the slowest Pokemon attacks first while the fastest Pokemon attacks last. A Trick Room team focuses on setting up and maintaining Trick Room in order for slower, powerful Pokemon to sweep, which they would otherwise be unable to do as effectively due to their low Speed. Pokemon will often run different moves on Trick Room teams which they wouldn't normally run. For instance, Mega Mawile will use Rock Slide on Trick Room to threaten Mega Charizard Y, which wouldn't otherwise be advisable, as it is outsped and OHKOed by Charizard's Fire-type STAB moves. In addition to certain moves, certain Pokemon are also mainly used on Trick Room, particularly Aromatisse and Gourgeist. Due to this, Trick Room is generally very noticeable in Team Preview and will give your opponent the heads up that you are running one. Given Trick Room's limited duration and how certain setters will only be effective in certain match-ups, it is strongly advised to run at least two Trick Room users on a Trick Room team.
Good Stuff:
Good stuff differentiates itself from the other play styles in that it doesn't follow one overarching strategy; instead, it aims to beat the other archetypes while having its own unique strategy. While these teams may have a weather inducer, a Tailwind user, or Trick Room setter, these won't be the team's primary focus. These Pokemon will primarily be used situationally depending on the team they are facing. Tyranitar is often used on good stuff, as the sand that it induces is seen as a neutral weather. This is especially true given the lack of Pokemon which can abuse sand in VGC 2014, and on top of this, Tyranitar is a very powerful Pokemon with good coverage. Rotom-W and Rotom-H are hugely popular choices, as they can check many common Pokemon with their good defensive typings, and they have Will-O-Wisp to inflict burn on physical attackers. Many good stuff teams are built around less common Mega Pokemon, Lucario for instance, with the team being built to support them. Simply put, these teams use the "good stuff" in the Pokemon world.
Tailwind:
Tailwind is a strategy that, similarly to Trick Room, tends to utilize Pokemon which aren't necessarily the fastest around and benefit from the Tailwind support. The move Tailwind doubles the Speed stat of all the Pokemon on the user's side of the field for four turns, including the turn in which it is used. This means that Tailwind is more effective in doubles than it is in singles due to more effective 'turns' to use it. These teams will consist of one or more Tailwind setters, such as Talonflame, Aerodactyl, or Noivern; something to counter Trick Room, such as Amoonguss or Aegislash; and a member that typically invests more in bulk than they do in speed. This means that you tend to see Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y which have been EV trained to take monstrous hits like Garchomp's Rock Slide on Tailwind teams. Tailwind is one of those strategies that is fairly visible from the Team Preview, but it isn't as easy to spot as things like Trick Room. This is because such teams look like good stuff teams at a glance and generally will not give away that it is indeed a Tailwind team.
Conclusion:
I would like to end with a small note about these archetypes. These are some common ones, but this in no way means that you are limited to these options. Part of the fun is experimenting and trying out your own things. I would truly recommend this, as it makes you more experienced, and it can be extremely fun. For example, you might want to try mixing Trick Room and rain to get a RainRoom team or even hail and Trick Room to get HailRoom. Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your quest to be the very best, like no one ever was!
Introduction:
Hello! If you are reading this, you are most likely ready to build or stuck with building a VGC team. In this article, I will explain some team archetypes (or strategies) as well as include some examples of Pokemon that work well in each (these are not teams). Hopefully, when you have finished reading, you will be able to use what you have learned to finish that treasured team of yours. Enjoy!
Sun:
This season, many teams are focused around the sun setter, Mega Charizard Y. Because weather effects now dissipate after 5 turns, you may also opt to use a Pokemon with Sunny Day instead. The main effects that will be taken advantage of are 50% reduction to Water-type moves, 50% boost to Fire-type moves, and the activation of Chlorophyll. In addition, Solarbeam does not need a turn to charge. The main abuser this season is Venusaur, as it synergizes well with Charizard. Also, the ability Harvest gets boosted in the sun and has a 100% chance of restoring a consumed berry. Trevenant is a good user of this and can infinitely restore a Sitrus berry. A downside, though, is that because Fire-type moves are boosted, the Grass-types on these teams suffer or risk getting KOed by these moves. Nonetheless, sun is still a great framework to build a VGC team around.
Rain:
Following sun comes the rain team and the main rain bringer, Politoed. As with sun teams, you can opt to use a Pokemon with Rain Dance instead. In rain, Fire-types moves are reduced 50% power while Water-type moves boosted by 50%, and Thunder and Hurricane have 100% accuracy. In addition, Swift Swim Pokemon get their Speed doubled and Rain Dish heals 1/16th of total HP every turn. There are quite a few viable Swift Swim users, a great example of which is Kingdra. Ludicolo's unique typing and nice bulk make it a great user of Rain Dish, and it also has the ability to utilize Swift Swim thanks to it being another one of Ludicolo's abilities. However, rain users must be ward, as a lot of them are Water-type Pokemon and Thunder has 100% accuracy in rain. Otherwise, rain is a solid option for those new to weather.
Hail:
This is the third type of weather, with the main setter being Abomasnow, who has the ability Snow Warning. Once again, you can opt to use a Pokemon with hail instead. In hail, every Pokemon that is not an Ice-type will take damage each turn. Also, Blizzard becomes a 100% accurate move and two hail oriented abilities are activated: Ice Body and Snow Cloak. Ice Body heals 1/16th of a Pokemon's total HP each turn in hail (much like Rain Dish in rain), and Snow Cloak raises the users evasiveness by 20%. Generally, hail is used more as a counter to other weather teams than as a weather-based team itself. It does not have any major effects, and because neither Ice-type Pokemon are common nor Pokemon with those Ice Body and Snow Cloak are common, it makes it an even playing field. Overall, hail is the least common form of weather and is arguably the hardest to run.
Sand:
Last but not least, the fourth type of weather is sand. There are two main viable setters for sand, Tyranitar and Hippowdon. Tyranitar has a crippling 4x weakness to Fighting-types but is a very solid Pokemon overall. Hippowdon does not have a 4x weakness and is more on the tanky stall side. As with the other weather types, you may once again decide to use a setter with the move Sandstorm instead of either of these two. Bringing up a sandstorm does have a good number of effects: Pokemon that are not Rock-, Ground-, or Steel-type will take damage each turn, Rock-type Pokemon have a 50% increase in their Special Defense, Solar Beam has a slight decrease in power, and the three sand oriented abilities are activated, Sand Rush, Sand Force, and Sand Veil, are activated. Sand Rush doubles Speed, Sand Force increases the power of all Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves by one stage, and Sand Veil increase evasiveness by 20%. Sand is a great weather archetype for both new and experienced with weather.
Trick Room:
Trick Room reverses the order in which Pokemon move for five turns. Therefore, the slowest Pokemon attacks first while the fastest Pokemon attacks last. A Trick Room team focuses on setting up and maintaining Trick Room in order for slower, powerful Pokemon to sweep, which they would otherwise be unable to do as effectively due to their low Speed. Pokemon will often run different moves on Trick Room teams which they wouldn't normally run. For instance, Mega Mawile will use Rock Slide on Trick Room to threaten Mega Charizard Y, which wouldn't otherwise be advisable, as it is outsped and OHKOed by Charizard's Fire-type STAB moves. In addition to certain moves, certain Pokemon are also mainly used on Trick Room, particularly Aromatisse and Gourgeist. Due to this, Trick Room is generally very noticeable in Team Preview and will give your opponent the heads up that you are running one. Given Trick Room's limited duration and how certain setters will only be effective in certain match-ups, it is strongly advised to run at least two Trick Room users on a Trick Room team.
Good Stuff:
Good stuff differentiates itself from the other play styles in that it doesn't follow one overarching strategy; instead, it aims to beat the other archetypes while having its own unique strategy. While these teams may have a weather inducer, a Tailwind user, or Trick Room setter, these won't be the team's primary focus. These Pokemon will primarily be used situationally depending on the team they are facing. Tyranitar is often used on good stuff, as the sand that it induces is seen as a neutral weather. This is especially true given the lack of Pokemon which can abuse sand in VGC 2014, and on top of this, Tyranitar is a very powerful Pokemon with good coverage. Rotom-W and Rotom-H are hugely popular choices, as they can check many common Pokemon with their good defensive typings, and they have Will-O-Wisp to inflict burn on physical attackers. Many good stuff teams are built around less common Mega Pokemon, Lucario for instance, with the team being built to support them. Simply put, these teams use the "good stuff" in the Pokemon world.
Tailwind:
Tailwind is a strategy that, similarly to Trick Room, tends to utilize Pokemon which aren't necessarily the fastest around and benefit from the Tailwind support. The move Tailwind doubles the Speed stat of all the Pokemon on the user's side of the field for four turns, including the turn in which it is used. This means that Tailwind is more effective in doubles than it is in singles due to more effective 'turns' to use it. These teams will consist of one or more Tailwind setters, such as Talonflame, Aerodactyl, or Noivern; something to counter Trick Room, such as Amoonguss or Aegislash; and a member that typically invests more in bulk than they do in speed. This means that you tend to see Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y which have been EV trained to take monstrous hits like Garchomp's Rock Slide on Tailwind teams. Tailwind is one of those strategies that is fairly visible from the Team Preview, but it isn't as easy to spot as things like Trick Room. This is because such teams look like good stuff teams at a glance and generally will not give away that it is indeed a Tailwind team.
Conclusion:
I would like to end with a small note about these archetypes. These are some common ones, but this in no way means that you are limited to these options. Part of the fun is experimenting and trying out your own things. I would truly recommend this, as it makes you more experienced, and it can be extremely fun. For example, you might want to try mixing Trick Room and rain to get a RainRoom team or even hail and Trick Room to get HailRoom. Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your quest to be the very best, like no one ever was!
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