Metagame SV Doubles Little Cup

[Voltix]

art done by RavioliQueen
approved by Coconut & Actuarily ​

Welcome to Generation 9 DLC!

This thread is meant for the discussion of this brave new world we are entering - Generation 9 Doubles LC. We are very excited to see what comes of another round of Pokemon games and all of the new additions that comes with it. Right off the bat, I just want to clarify a few things.

• The official Doubles LC format will only include Pokemon that are legally obtainable in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. If your favorite Pokemon didn't make it in this generation, I’m right there with ya. However, it is Smogon policy to have our official formats be playable on cart without any sort of hacking, so until something changes we will be using the Paldea regional Pokedex.
• Our banlist will be minimal at first. This does not mean that we will not re-ban some of the problematic Pokemon of generations past, but since we're starting with a fresh generation, we are only banning the classic box legends right off the bat. It is very likely that either a series of council votes or some suspect tests will occur shortly after the release of generation 9 so stay to tuned to this thread for updates.

What is Doubles LC?

Exactly what it sounds like! It's Little Cup in the doubles format, only with a different banlist than in singles LC and a different metagame than Doubles OU since every Pokémon is at level 5.

Where can I play it?

The best place to play Doubles LC is on Pokemon Showdown, challenge people using the Doubles LC format on Pokemon Showdown. We also have a Discord Server for finding matches and metagame discussion.

Some topics of discussion:
-

• What currently shapes the metagame? Are there any big threats that need to be addressed?
• What kind of teams are fun and effective? What playstyles have potential and what play,styles don't.
• How does the new mechanic Terastalyze affect the metagame?

What's banned?

- The Pokemon Basculin White-Striped, Dunsparce, Murkrow, Scyther, Sneasel, Sneasel-Hisui, Qwilfish-Hisui, Yanma, Gligar, Vulpix-Kanto, Vulpix-Alola and Duraludon are banned.

Resources:

DLC CIRCUIT

DLC Sample Teams
DLC Viability Rankings
DLC Role Compendium
DLC Tera-Type Index

The current Doubles LC Council is:

Voltix (Tier Leader)

Acehunter1

Actuarily

PigWarrior19

Sunrose

John1240

GasaiYunoSan
​

 

[Voltix]

art by Albatross ​

Welcome to the Doubles LC Viability Ranking project, where we rank the viability of Pokemon in DLC. The floor will always be open to discussion, and after a period of time (roughly every month), the viability rankings council will vote on any of the Pokemon being discussed and post the results and reasoning here. A Pokemon moving from UR to Ranked must receive both a majority and at least 5 votes of "yes" in order to be Ranked. The rankings and tier descriptions have been assigned to describe each Pokemon's state within the metagame, and the Pokemon in each tier are listed in alphabetical order.

When making a nomination for a shift in the VR, many things can improve the quality of your post and thus the likelihood of it convincing the VR council. Calcs, reasons why the current metagame is different for the Pokemon, replays, and discussion on how the Pokemon interacts with other relevant Pokemon are all potentially solid inclusions. Additionally, you may want to discuss usage stats as part of your argument, but don't base your entire argument on the usage of a Pokemon - usage and viability are not the same thing. For examples of solid nominations from the last generation, check out this post (and the one two below it) and this post.

>>Tier 1<<​

Pokemon that dominate a large portion of the metagame. They are either quite powerful or offer great team support, and can fit on almost any team. You can't really go wrong by using these Pokemon.

Misdreavus
Girafarig
Vullaby
Cutiefly


>>Tier 2<<​

Pokemon that are generally strong and can easily be placed on a variety of teams, but don't have the same level of prowess as the threats in Tier 1.

Stantler
Foongus
Litten
Mudbray
Meditite
Mienfoo
Porygon


>>Tier 3<<​

Pokemon that are generally strong, but less powerful than those in Tier 2 or Pokemon that require a decent amount of support or a specific team style to function well, but are defining pieces to said archetypes.

Grookey
Tinkatink
Elekid
Scraggy
Gothita
Wingull
Pawniard
Aipom
Growlithe-Hisui
Glimmet
Poltchageist
Voltorb-Hisui
Chinchou
Snover
Grimer-Alola


>>Tier 4<<​

This tier contains either Pokemon that have broad applications on a variety of teams, but are simply less effective than those in higher tiers, or are only particularly useful for certain team styles.

Wattrel
Impidimp
Cubchoo
Sandshrew-Alola
Rufflet
Stunky
Koffing
Dewpider
Finneon
Magnemite
Inkay
Snubbull
Skrelp
Corphish


>>Tier 5<<​

Pokemon that, while they have a niche in the metagame, often struggle to find situations where they thrive, either because of the support required or their poor matchups.

Houndour
Growlithe
Zorua-Hisui
Shroodle
Larvesta
Timburr
Slowpoke
Diglett
Snivy
Squirtle
Cranidos
Flittle
Bramblin
Riolu
Trapinch
Psyduck
Cyndaquil
Charmander
Magby
Buizel
Shellos
Munchlax

​

 

[Acehunter1]

art by Fancy1

Hello! This post serves to be a place for successful Doubles LC teams intended to help new players get acclimated to the metagame and different playstyles. Sample Teams are exemplary teams that have proven themselves to be good and are basic enough for beginners to use, allowing them to pick up the fundamentals of teambuilding and doubles play. Sample Teams will be hosted in this post.​

Posting Guidelines

• Give a short explanation of the role that each member of your team plays, and how the team works.
• Provide an importable.
• You must have some experience with your team before posting. Don’t post a team you just made on the team builder and thought looked good. Providing replays is a good way to prove that you have used your team a fair bit and that it’s viable; it will also give us an idea of how to play with the team.
• Your team must represent the current metagame.

Sample teams will be selected at the discrection of the Doubles LC Council.

Current Sample Teams

Below are the current sample teams! Click the minisprites for the importables of the teams.

- Inkay Trick Room (by Fairy Juice Jay)

- Cranidos Tailwind Offense (by Acehunter1)

- Squirtle Setup Spam (by Voltix)

- Snow TailRoom (by PigWarrior19)

- Doduo Webs (by John1240)

- Corphish FWG (by PigWarrior19)

​

Outdated sample teams

- SemiRoom (by Bless)
- Calm Mind Stantler (by PigWarrior19)
- Growlithe-Hisui Offense (by Voltix)
- FullRoom (by jcbc)
- Rain (by Actuarily)
- rain (by jcbc)
- sun (by GasaiYunoSan)
- charge beam Hvoice giraffe (by Actuarily)
- hail (by Voltix)
- swagger spam (by Acehunter1)
- meditite offense (by Voltix)
- Trick Room (by Acehunter1)
- SD pawn webs (by jcbc)

 

[Acehunter1]

Reserved for speed tiers

 

[Voltix]

art by Alcor
​

The purpose of this thread is to provide a visual list organized by roles to see what Pokémon do what. This will help new and experienced players alike in finding Pokémon that fit their teams when looking for specific roles. Each Pokemon that is here is viable in the SS Doubles LC metagame, and as such, it will change as the viability rankings get updated. If you feel there is a Pokemon viable for the roles mentioned below and it hasn't been added to the group, then recommend it in your post with solid explanations.
Under each role will be an array of Pokemon that could satisfy it, sorted into solid and shaky performers of the listed role. In the case that a role is split into sub-roles, the solid vs shaky categories will refer to how well the given Pokemon performs the larger role - not the sub-role. If there is a Pokemon that is not listed in a role it should be or vice versa, make a post about it and this post may be edited to fit your recommendation. Although the lists will roughly be in viability order, this is not meant to be used as anything relevant towards the Viability Rankings if you want to make a statement or start a discussion over the VR pls state it as so and viceversa. Exceptions can, however, be made for the case where you believe a Pokemon is listed in the incorrect category. Having this visual cue will hopefully aid people in building better and also more diverse teams, and allow anyone to find that one last filler they need for a team.

The order of roles will be organized in the following way:

1. Speed control (Utility Moves, Attacking Moves)
2. Utility (hazard setters and removers and diverse forms of utility)
3. Offensive roles (wallbreakers, choice item users, and setup sweepers)
4. Defensive roles (walls and pivots)
5. Weather (rain, sand, and sun)

1. Speed Control

Attacking Moves:

- Electroweb:
Solid -
Shaky -
- Thunder Wave:
Solid -
Shaky -
- Icy Wind:
Solid -
Shaky -

Utility Moves:

- Tailwind:
Solid -
Shaky -
- Trick Room:
Solid -
Shaky -

2. Utility

Entry Hazards:

- Spikes:
Solid -
Shaky -
- Stealth Rocks:
Solid -
Shaky -
- Sticky Webs:
Solid -
Shaky -
- Toxic Spikes:
Solid -
Shaky -

Redirection Support:

Ally Switch:
Solid -
Shaky -
Rage Powder:
Solid -
Shaky -
Follow Me:
Solid -
Shaky -


Healing moves:

Heal Pulse:
Solid -
Shaky -
Life Dew:
Solid -
Shaky - X
Pollen Puff:
Solid -
Shaky -

Other:

Helping Hand:
Solid -
Shaky -
Howl:
Solid -
Shaky - X
Intimidate:
Solid -
Shaky -
Swagger:
Solid -
Shaky -
Taunt:
Solid -
Shaky -
Trappers:
Solid -
Shaky -
Will-o-Wisp:
Solid -
Shaky -



3. Offensive Roles

Choice Item Users:

Choice Scarf:
Solid -
Shaky -

Priority:


Bullet Punch:
Solid -
Shaky -

Fake Out:
Solid -
Shaky -
Feint:
Solid -
Shaky -
First Impression:
Solid -
Shaky -
Ice Shard:
Solid -
Shaky -
Prankster:
Solid -
Shaky - X
Sucker Punch:
Solid -
Shaky -
Vacuum Wave:
Solid -
Shaky -

Setup Sweepers:

Belly Drum:
Solid -
Shaky -
Calm Mind:
Solid -
Shaky -
Dragon Dance:
Solid -
Shaky -
Growth:
Solid -
Shaky -
Moody:
Solid -
Shaky - X
Nasty Plot:
Solid -
Shaky -
Shell Smash:
Solid -
Shaky -
Swords Dance:
Solid -
Shaky -

Unburden:
Solid -
Shaky - X


5. Weather

Hail:

Snow Warning:
Solid -
Shaky - X
Slush Rush:
Solid -
Shaky - X

Sand:

Sand Stream:
Solid -
Shaky - X
Sand Force:
Solid -
Shaky - X
Sand Rush
Solid -
Shaky - X


Rain:

Rain Dance (setter):
Solid -
Shaky - X
Swift Swim:
Solid -
Shaky -

Sun:

Sunny Day (setter):
Solid -
Shaky -
Chlorophyll:
Solid -
Shaky -
Solar Power:
Solid -
Shaky - X

If you disagree with the placement of any pokemon or think some pokemon is not placed where it belongs or not placed at all let us know!

​

 

[Voltix]

Tera Type Index: SV Doubles LC​

With SV DLC evolving into a metagame with seemingly infinite possibilities, teambuilding can be a daunting task while playing around some of the strongest Pokemon can be overwhelming. The goal of this thread is to index many of the commonly seen Terastallization ("Tera") types that Pokemon in SV DLC use. Obviously this is not a perfect science -- I attempt to list the types in a very rough order and list the viable types overall, but this is just a singular attempt. This thread will be left as a locked resource that is periodically updated.

Tera Type Index

Misdreavus - Fairy, Fire, Dark, Electric, Ground.
Foongus - Water, Ghost, Steel, Dark.
Girafarig - Dark, Normal, Fighting, Ground, Fairy.
Mudbray - Fire, Steel, Grass, Ground.
Meditite - Dark.
Tinkatink - Flying.
Gothita - Dark, Fighting.
Pawniard - Dark, Flying, Ghost.
Glimmet - Grass, Fire.
Growlithe - Grass, Water.
Rufflet - Flying, Ground, Steel, Fighting.
Wingull - Ground.
Impidimp - Ghost.
Wattrel - Electric, Water.
Drifloon - Ground, Fighting, Fire.
Snover - Fire, Water.
Shroodle - Fighting, Ghost.
Magnemite - Fighting, Flying, Ice.
Gastly - Fairy, Fire, Dark, Electric, Ground.
Cubchoo - Fighting, Ground, Water.
Croagunk - Dark, Flying, Ghost.
Voltorb - Ice.
Surskit - Ghost, Grass.
Maschiff - Psychic, Dark.
Larvesta - Water, Fire.
Toedscool - Water, Ghost.
Houndour - Grass.
Shellos - Grass, Ground.
Meowth - Normal, Dark.
Makuhita - Steel.
Zorua - Fighting.
Grimer - Fire, Flying.
Mankey - Dark, Fighting.
Finneon - Ground, Fairy, Grass.
Salandit - Grass.
Stunky - Flying, Dark, Fire.
Meowth-Galar - Grass, Ghost.
Diglett - Ice, Dark.
Bramblin - Ground.
Psyduck - Psychic.
Charmander - Fire, Grass.
Buizel - Ice, Water.
Mareanie - Ground, Ghost.
Riolu - Ghost.
Skrelp - Grass, Dragon, Water.
Deerling - Ghost, Psychic.
Cufant - Flying.
Numel - Grass, Water.
Slowpoke - Water.
Sandile - Dark, Ground, Ice.
Shinx - Flying, Grass, Dark.
Bronzor - Electric, Water.
Sandygast - Water, Grass.
Flittle - Ground. Normal.
Cetoddle - Ground.

Please remember this is just a rough list that is intended to be a resources to our players. Feel free to ask about anything in the discord or if you feel like we missed any tera let us know.

 

[TheShoddyStrawman]

Quick thing I said on the discord but feel it deserves restating here:

Glimmet looks pretty viable, might be tier 2 but definitely tier 3. You can punish fake outs by switching this in to get a free layer of toxic spikes while also resisting it. You have the special attack stat of an abra, as well as a 60 base speed, meaning you can use it on either of trick room or tailwind. You can get down to 19 HP meaning you can have a life orb set. On top of all of that, you can set hazards to your hearts content. It’s got a lot of potential as either a support pokemon that can punch holes if it needs to or an all out attacker.

 

[Voltix]

Hello everyone! Welcome to a new generation! Hopefully this gen will be as interesting as the past one. Let´s make a quick review of the new meta since the first games of the tier have been already played.


The "brokens"

All of the below listed Pokémon are the ones that we have had in the radar since the beginning of the generation, and after much testing and discussion about them, we are going to follow with a vote to see if we ban them or not. Before that, we wanted to share the overall opinion on each of these Pokémon to the public.

Scyther

Scyther has been historically an auto ban since the first Little Cup tier to ever exist due to it's crazy high BST which gives it a huge natural bulk but also an insane speed and attack stats. Last generation it got even better with the addition of Dual Wingbeat to its movepool, which gave it an insane double hit of 60 bp each thanks to technician. But this generation, not only he lost that move but also Knock Off which was a big part of the kit. Not everything are bad news for scyther tho, Close Combat has been added to the kit which makes it have a way to beat the steel- types which would otherwise hard wall it. It's one of the strongest pokémon on the metagame right now without a doubt and it has been a strong point of debate in between the council. With the pressence of checks to it such as Wattrel, Magnemite and Growlithe and the always important x4 weakness to Stealth Rock (it can run Boots in exchange of the extra bulk of Eviolite) it is for us to consider if it's really broken or not.

Murkrow

Murkrow while not on the level of Scyther in terms of high BST has a very good typing which added to having a movepool (specially Tailwind and Quash) which pairs amazing with Prankster, makes of Murkrow a really scary pokemon to face. Not only that but it can also be a very scary offensive pokemon in both its special (Nasty Plot + Dark Pulse and Heat Wave or alternatively run 3 attacks with Hurricane) and physical (Brave Bird +Sucker Punch) variant. The main issue that Murkrow has it's how frail it is.

Misdreavus

Misdreavus is another of those pokemon that has been historically banned almost on release in pretty much every generation. Same as Murkrow it doesn't reach the levels of Scyther in terms of BST. However, it has many qualities that show why Misdreavus is an arguably bannable pokemon. Having a 19 speed Will-o-Wisp has been proved last gen that is already unbelievable good, but not only that, Missy has acces to Nasty Plot and a vast coverage moves such as Thunderbolt, Psychic, Dark Pulse, Dazzling Gleam to name a few. If on top of all of that you add Teracrystalize, you can see why Misdreavus doesn't avoid to be in this list, as being able to change your type to give stab to whichever of the coverage moves you would want to boost by giving it STAB or alternatively beat your counters easier with Tera Blast is very good. Not everything is pros tho, Misdreavus has a 4MSS since it wants to have Tera Blast to hit the checks it has in Dunsparce and Pawniard but also wants to have SBall (or Hex if paired with WoW), without forgetting Thunderbolt to hit the all around flying-types, but also wants to have Will-o-Wisp to weaken the physical pokemon who would otherwise abuse it's lower Defense stat and Dark Pulse to beat other Misdreavus aswell as Girafarig. There is also to say that Misdreavus really shines when he is one of the faster pokemon in the metagame but with Scyther and Sneasel around makes it hard for it to actually sweep games.

Sneasel

Sneasel is, along with Scyther, the only auto ban since LC existed and this is because of its crazy offensive movepool, having STAB Knock Off with a base 95 Atk stat paired with also STAB Icicle Crash it's insane. But this is no more the case this generation since it lost Knock Off, leaving it with having Thief and Bite as the Dark- type STAB moves, which is a huge nerf to it. Defensively its typing isn't the best since it is x4 weak to fighting- type and x2 weak to rock-, steel- bug-, fairy- and fire- types. However offensively a pokemon with 23 speed inmune to fake out and intimidate makes it troublesome.

Dunsparce

Dunsparce is a weird pokemon as it doesn't look that much of an issue by its look, however when you look closely and check out it's stats you start to understand why this pokémon can be an issue. With a natural bulk of 100/75/65 and acces to roost it's a really hard pokemon to kill. If on top of that you add other options such as Coil (for its physical variant) or Calm Mind (for its special variant); Dunsparce is a really hard pokemon to deal with. Additionally we have the Serene Grace effect which makes it have Headbutt and Air Slash flinch rates increased. However not everything is good. Dunsparce without set up is a rather mediocre pokemon as it has a very middling speed and without terastyilize, the typing it has is average at best.



The "Good"
All of the Pokémon that are going to be mentioned below are Pokémon that while they are doing very good, they don't seem to be as much of an inmediate menace to the metagame stability. Still they are very high valued pokemon right now and they deserve to be mentioned.


Wattrel

Wattrel is a really good offensive pokemon since thanks to the boost it gets if its under tailwind it can hit really hard with both its stabs in flying- and electric- type. It also have very good utility since it can also be an electric inmunity if chosen to be it and can set up tailwind itself.

Mudbray

Is one of the "none broken" top tiers. Being able to hit really hard while also set up hazards. It is also the only electric inmunity right now.

Girafarig

Girafarig is a weird one because while it's a really strong in stats pokemon it doesn't shine as much as it would like to (maybe because of the pressence of higher tier brokens), making it not see as much play as it would like too. It also has a number of checks in the dark types and heavy SpD bulky.

Meditite

Meditite is there on the edge of brokeness, it doesn't really have any switch ins at all but its also a paper with not much speed on it. However, with terastylize it can avoid the weakness to flying- type by teracrystalizing to Steel type which also boosts Bullet Punch.

Impidimp

Impidimp got a huge buff with the addition of Parting Shot to its kit making it disrupt easier the opposing team.

Growlithe

Intimidate is such a valuable ability to have but not only that in a meta as stacked with threats weak to Will-o-Wisp/fire- type moves is very good. It's also pretty bulky which helps to deal with strong attacks to come.

Magnemite

Magnemite is insanely good in the current metagame as it walls a lot of the metagame and there's not really such a electric resist. Its also a very good check to a lot of the top pokemon since it resists psychic- and flying- type.

Rufflet

Rufflet is still the same pokemon as last generation, however its on the shadow of scyther and murkrow as the main flying right now. That doesn't make it a bad pokemon tho, its still the same have no switch in as long as it hits its moves pokemon.

Cetoddle

Cetoddle with Belly Drum is a very threatning pokemon with stab ice shard and ice spinner boosted by sheer force is pretty good as a sweeper.

Glimmet

Glimmet is a pretty toxic pokémon (in a very specific way). Having a 16 speed setter which walls a lot of the top tier pokemon is really good.

Maschiff

Maschiff is surpringly good, both as an Intimidate user but also as a Stakeout Trick Room abuser, it can abuse both its set pretty effectively and it has good coverage for it.

Foongus

Foongus does still what Foongus did last generation, be annoying by redirecting and sleeping pokemon. There's not much else to say to be honest it just helps a lot the other breakers.

Honorable mentions would go to , , , , , +, , and . All of this pokemon are up there to be good and reliable pokemon in the metagame on paper but they are yet to shine/be tested enough.

Lastly, apparently Tandemaus does not learn the broken move Population Bomb, at least not at level 5. We are waiting for more info about this issue, and some update on Showdown to determinate what to do with the little mouse.

Please stay tuned for more news and the next vote later this week! We will keep looking for the sanity of the tier metagame. Thank you for reading and have a nice day.

 

[jcbc]

We went over some of the pokemon that were seen as problematic. And this are the results, pokemon that reached the 60% threshold gets the axe.

​

Scyther

Scyther has been problematic and centralizing since release, everyone tried finding ways to counter it out but its BST ended up being to much for the metagame. Combination of insane speed and attack with great flying- and fighting- type attack.

Sneasel

Sneasel on the other hand was just one vote away to stay and while its the closest in BST from the banned pokemon. The loss of dark- stab brought random strategies like TM43 fling +thief combo. But what really pushed it was having Inner Focus.

Murkrow

Murkrow is the last banned pokemon, the lack of Rock-types and the whole kit of krow makes it to much. Utility and offensive combination had made it be the only 100% ban out of the slate.

We will keep an eye, on the non banned pokemons but also on every other pokemon or thing that could get broken and act properly. Until the next time see you, let's see what this new metagame is like.

 

[PlayerPier2]

jcbc Shouldn't the command include the other banned Pokémon, too?

 

[jcbc]

jcbc Shouldn't the command include the other banned Pokémon, too?

? what command ? the challenge format in showdown have all the banned pokemon in it. Idk which pokemon you refer to.

 

[PlayerPier2]

The best place to play Doubles LC is on Pokemon Showdown, using the following command to challenge people (/challenge [user] gen9doublesou@@@little cup, -Basculin, -Dragon Rage, -Sonic Boom), a challenge format will be created in the near future.

jcbc I was actually referring to this section of your lead thread, but I've probably misunderstood how commands work, sorry...

 

[jcbc]

jcbc I was actually referring to this section of your lead thread, but I've probably misunderstood how commands work, sorry...

i didnt update that mb. it should work now by using the challenge option of doubles lc

 

[PlayerPier2]

i didnt update that mb. it should work now by using the challenge option of doubles lc

That's fine, thank you.

 

[jcbc]

I'm here with more news; with Maushold Cup almost ready to begin and a couple dozens of games already under our belt we have decided to have a look at one of the most controverse topics last gens, sleep clause.

Now why is this a debate, sleep has always been a weird mechanic where it's okey and barely gets used or it's so busted that it needs major action. Overall in doubles metagames, sleep has always been fine. Safety Goggles and a plethora of abilities that nullify them have been present not to mention that the longetivity that lvl 100 mons have allow them to actually wake up before the game is sealed. However, for level 5 pokemon the story is different, placing Goggles is impossible with how good Eviolite is, you just lose to much for it. There is also no terrain avaiable neither we have the best sleep inmune mons around. On top of that, the longetivity of the pokemons at level 5 is very low compared to OU so relaying on your pokemon to wake up is very rare and hard to accomplish as a win con. It is true that there are few optimal sleep abusers but those exceed so much pressure on the metagame with their moves. For all this reasons we decided to have a vote on them and this are the results.

​

With a pretty large margin of a 6-1 (+1 abstain) difference Sleep Clause is now implemented. Tagging Kris and Marty to implement this.

In other order of news we plan to have a look at certain pokemons again after Maushold Cup ends, we want to use this as a focus to see what's more and less broken. And a role compendium and speed tiers will come relatively soon. Stay tuned for more news.

 

[jcbc]

COUNCIL MINUTES​

Hey everyone, and I'll be the one bringing to you the latest Council minutes today! It's been a while, there has been some discussion about the recent meta development and other aspects such as votings and the future state of the tier. There are quite a few topics to talk about, so please bear with me!

Metagame Discussion

The meta seems to be in a somewhat good shape right now. However there are a few things that we've noticed and they are in a need to be looked at. Some mons have shifted in its usage since the last update on the tier we did. Let's talk about some of the main things we've noticed!

Dunsparce
Dunsparce wasn't being looked at originally as it looked to not be the best, but it's passive bulk + serene grace have been a thing since the last bans we did, with very few ways to hit it for super effective damage and tera to be able to avoid the very few answer to it that we may have, makes it a really scary pokemon to deal with. If provided by good support on Trick Room, paralysis or Tailwind this pokemon can flinch your whole team to death if not played carefully.

Misdreavus
Buffed Gastly has been a staple since a very long time, having the extra point of speed and a big boost in its bulk gives misdreavus the win in usage and main reason to use it. The bulk it has allow it to functionally go both direction offensive and utility with success. However the question here would be if that is enough or not to push it to a ban. The counterplay to it can be bleak since sometimes it overgoes by its checks, and having 2 inmunitties in its kit helps it a lot, there's an overall lack of knock off to lessen its bulk right now. But lack of recovery options means it sometimes doesn't last enough to win by its own.

Girafarig
Giraffe have been a controversial pokemon, since it's kind of in a weird spot right now, it's supposed to be a threat on paper but when you get to actually play it, it's not. We are still discussing wether this is given by others more broken making it not shine or if it's really not broken. However one thing is true and is how with that bulk and a plethora of options to choose coupled with a 19 speed girafarig is a pokemon that should be put into account when building.

Planning for the near future

- We are going to hold another slate, this time its on Dunsparce, Misdreavus and Girafarig.
- After this vote conclude, we will hold another slate of updating on the Viability Ranking to reflect the result of these vote and also the metagame shape after Maushold Cup.
- Sample Teams are to be expected to be out in the following week.
- We are going to start talking about how we want to manage our circuit this year. More information regarding this topic will be out soon.

This was all, thanks for coming all the way to this point and make sure to keep enjoying the tier as much as we do! We will keep on trying to work for the best. JC out!

P.D. i want to say huge thanks and farewell to paraplegic to decided to step down!

 

[jcbc]

Maushold Cup Usage stats

Hide

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Foongus            |   35 |  60.34% |  51.43% |
| 2    | Tinkatink          |   31 |  53.45% |  51.61% |
| 3    | Mudbray            |   28 |  48.28% |  42.86% |
| 4    | Misdreavus         |   27 |  46.55% |  59.26% |
| 5    | Wingull            |   19 |  32.76% |  36.84% |
| 6    | Dunsparce          |   18 |  31.03% |  72.22% |
| 7    | Girafarig          |   13 |  22.41% |  30.77% |
| 8    | Growlithe          |   11 |  18.97% |  54.55% |
| 8    | Wattrel            |   11 |  18.97% |  45.45% |
| 8    | Meditite           |   11 |  18.97% |  36.36% |
| 11   | Shroodle           |   10 |  17.24% |  70.00% |
| 11   | Drifloon           |   10 |  17.24% |  60.00% |
| 11   | Gothita            |   10 |  17.24% |  50.00% |
| 11   | Snover             |   10 |  17.24% |  40.00% |
| 11   | Cetoddle           |   10 |  17.24% |  40.00% |
| 16   | Gastly             |    9 |  15.52% |  22.22% |
| 17   | Glimmet            |    8 |  13.79% |  87.50% |
| 18   | Shinx              |    6 |  10.34% |  66.67% |
| 18   | Rufflet            |    6 |  10.34% |  50.00% |
| 20   | Pawniard           |    5 |   8.62% |  60.00% |
| 20   | Mankey             |    5 |   8.62% |  40.00% |
| 20   | Impidimp           |    5 |   8.62% |  40.00% |
| 23   | Salandit           |    4 |   6.90% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Diglett            |    4 |   6.90% |  75.00% |
| 23   | Larvesta           |    4 |   6.90% |  75.00% |
| 26   | Charmander         |    3 |   5.17% | 100.00% |
| 26   | Houndour           |    3 |   5.17% |  66.67% |
| 26   | Maschiff           |    3 |   5.17% |  33.33% |
| 26   | Gimmighoul         |    3 |   5.17% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Surskit            |    2 |   3.45% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Shellos-East       |    2 |   3.45% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Meowth-Galar       |    2 |   3.45% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Bramblin           |    2 |   3.45% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Finneon            |    2 |   3.45% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Buizel             |    2 |   3.45% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Toedscool          |    2 |   3.45% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Magnemite          |    2 |   3.45% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Croagunk           |    1 |   1.72% | 100.00% |
| 38   | Tadbulb            |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Numel              |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Crabrawler         |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Finizen            |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Cubchoo            |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Skrelp             |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Wooper-Paldea      |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Makuhita           |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |
| 38   | Scorbunny          |    1 |   1.72% |   0.00% |

Doubles LC Kickoff Usage Stats

Hide

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Misdreavus         |   90 |  52.33% |  57.78% |
| 2    | Foongus            |   84 |  48.84% |  53.57% |
| 3    | Dunsparce          |   57 |  33.14% |  61.40% |
| 4    | Mudbray            |   56 |  32.56% |  46.43% |
| 5    | Tinkatink          |   54 |  31.40% |  59.26% |
| 5    | Girafarig          |   54 |  31.40% |  40.74% |
| 7    | Meditite           |   45 |  26.16% |  53.33% |
| 8    | Wattrel            |   42 |  24.42% |  52.38% |
| 9    | Rufflet            |   40 |  23.26% |  60.00% |
| 10   | Glimmet            |   36 |  20.93% |  58.33% |
| 10   | Gothita            |   36 |  20.93% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Growlithe          |   35 |  20.35% |  51.43% |
| 13   | Snover             |   34 |  19.77% |  64.71% |
| 14   | Wingull            |   32 |  18.60% |  37.50% |
| 15   | Impidimp           |   30 |  17.44% |  60.00% |
| 16   | Cetoddle           |   29 |  16.86% |  58.62% |
| 17   | Pawniard           |   25 |  14.53% |  56.00% |
| 18   | Toedscool          |   23 |  13.37% |  26.09% |
| 19   | Drifloon           |   21 |  12.21% |  57.14% |
| 20   | Shinx              |   18 |  10.47% |  66.67% |
| 21   | Charmander         |   12 |   6.98% |  16.67% |
| 21   | Magnemite          |   12 |   6.98% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Gastly             |   11 |   6.40% |  54.55% |
| 23   | Riolu              |   11 |   6.40% |  18.18% |
| 25   | Makuhita           |   10 |   5.81% |  10.00% |
| 26   | Shroodle           |    8 |   4.65% |  62.50% |
| 26   | Houndour           |    8 |   4.65% |  25.00% |
| 28   | Tarountula         |    7 |   4.07% |   0.00% |
| 29   | Hippopotas         |    6 |   3.49% |  83.33% |
| 29   | Shellos-East       |    6 |   3.49% |  83.33% |
| 29   | Meowth-Galar       |    6 |   3.49% |  50.00% |
| 29   | Varoom             |    6 |   3.49% |  33.33% |
| 29   | Capsakid           |    6 |   3.49% |  16.67% |
| 34   | Larvesta           |    5 |   2.91% |  80.00% |
| 34   | Cubchoo            |    5 |   2.91% |  60.00% |
| 34   | Buizel             |    5 |   2.91% |  40.00% |
| 34   | Maschiff           |    5 |   2.91% |  20.00% |
| 38   | Diglett            |    4 |   2.33% |  25.00% |
| 38   | Mankey             |    4 |   2.33% |  25.00% |
| 38   | Salandit           |    4 |   2.33% |   0.00% |
| 41   | Croagunk           |    3 |   1.74% |  66.67% |
| 41   | Flittle            |    3 |   1.74% |  66.67% |
| 41   | Sprigatito         |    3 |   1.74% |  33.33% |
| 41   | Snorunt            |    3 |   1.74% |  33.33% |
| 41   | Fuecoco            |    3 |   1.74% |   0.00% |
| 41   | Stunky             |    3 |   1.74% |   0.00% |
| 47   | Deerling-Summer    |    2 |   1.16% |  50.00% |
| 47   | Finneon            |    2 |   1.16% |  50.00% |
| 47   | Frigibax           |    2 |   1.16% |  50.00% |
| 47   | Wooper-Paldea      |    2 |   1.16% |  50.00% |
| 47   | Dratini            |    2 |   1.16% |  50.00% |
| 47   | Fletchling         |    2 |   1.16% |   0.00% |
| 47   | Cacnea             |    2 |   1.16% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Psyduck            |    1 |   0.58% | 100.00% |
| 54   | Voltorb            |    1 |   0.58% | 100.00% |
| 54   | Crabrawler         |    1 |   0.58% | 100.00% |
| 54   | Quaxly             |    1 |   0.58% | 100.00% |
| 54   | Pineco             |    1 |   0.58% | 100.00% |
| 54   | Surskit            |    1 |   0.58% | 100.00% |
| 54   | Clauncher          |    1 |   0.58% | 100.00% |
| 54   | Bramblin           |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Finizen            |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Venonat            |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Meowth             |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Smoliv             |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Hatenna            |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Fidough            |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Nymble             |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Mareanie           |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |
| 54   | Fomantis           |    1 |   0.58% |   0.00% |

Maushold + Kickoff combined usage stats

Hide

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Foongus            |  119 |  51.74% |  52.94% |
| 2    | Misdreavus         |  117 |  50.87% |  58.12% |
| 3    | Tinkatink          |   85 |  36.96% |  56.47% |
| 4    | Mudbray            |   84 |  36.52% |  45.24% |
| 5    | Dunsparce          |   75 |  32.61% |  64.00% |
| 6    | Girafarig          |   67 |  29.13% |  38.81% |
| 7    | Meditite           |   56 |  24.35% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Wattrel            |   53 |  23.04% |  50.94% |
| 9    | Wingull            |   51 |  22.17% |  37.25% |
| 10   | Rufflet            |   46 |  20.00% |  58.70% |
| 10   | Growlithe          |   46 |  20.00% |  52.17% |
| 10   | Gothita            |   46 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 13   | Glimmet            |   44 |  19.13% |  63.64% |
| 13   | Snover             |   44 |  19.13% |  59.09% |
| 15   | Cetoddle           |   39 |  16.96% |  53.85% |
| 16   | Impidimp           |   35 |  15.22% |  57.14% |
| 17   | Drifloon           |   31 |  13.48% |  58.06% |
| 18   | Pawniard           |   30 |  13.04% |  56.67% |
| 19   | Toedscool          |   25 |  10.87% |  24.00% |
| 20   | Shinx              |   24 |  10.43% |  66.67% |
| 21   | Gastly             |   20 |   8.70% |  40.00% |
| 22   | Shroodle           |   18 |   7.83% |  66.67% |
| 23   | Charmander         |   15 |   6.52% |  33.33% |
| 24   | Magnemite          |   14 |   6.09% |   0.00% |
| 25   | Houndour           |   11 |   4.78% |  36.36% |
| 25   | Riolu              |   11 |   4.78% |  18.18% |
| 25   | Makuhita           |   11 |   4.78% |   9.09% |
| 28   | Larvesta           |    9 |   3.91% |  77.78% |
| 28   | Mankey             |    9 |   3.91% |  33.33% |
| 30   | Shellos-East       |    8 |   3.48% |  75.00% |
| 30   | Salandit           |    8 |   3.48% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Diglett            |    8 |   3.48% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Meowth-Galar       |    8 |   3.48% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Maschiff           |    8 |   3.48% |  25.00% |
| 35   | Buizel             |    7 |   3.04% |  42.86% |
| 35   | Tarountula         |    7 |   3.04% |   0.00% |
| 37   | Hippopotas         |    6 |   2.61% |  83.33% |
| 37   | Cubchoo            |    6 |   2.61% |  50.00% |
| 37   | Varoom             |    6 |   2.61% |  33.33% |
| 37   | Capsakid           |    6 |   2.61% |  16.67% |
| 41   | Croagunk           |    4 |   1.74% |  75.00% |
| 41   | Finneon            |    4 |   1.74% |  50.00% |
| 43   | Surskit            |    3 |   1.30% | 100.00% |
| 43   | Flittle            |    3 |   1.30% |  66.67% |
| 43   | Bramblin           |    3 |   1.30% |  33.33% |
| 43   | Wooper-Paldea      |    3 |   1.30% |  33.33% |
| 43   | Sprigatito         |    3 |   1.30% |  33.33% |
| 43   | Snorunt            |    3 |   1.30% |  33.33% |
| 43   | Gimmighoul         |    3 |   1.30% |   0.00% |
| 43   | Fuecoco            |    3 |   1.30% |   0.00% |
| 43   | Stunky             |    3 |   1.30% |   0.00% |
| 52   | Crabrawler         |    2 |   0.87% |  50.00% |
| 52   | Deerling-Summer    |    2 |   0.87% |  50.00% |
| 52   | Frigibax           |    2 |   0.87% |  50.00% |
| 52   | Dratini            |    2 |   0.87% |  50.00% |
| 52   | Finizen            |    2 |   0.87% |   0.00% |
| 52   | Fletchling         |    2 |   0.87% |   0.00% |
| 52   | Cacnea             |    2 |   0.87% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Psyduck            |    1 |   0.43% | 100.00% |
| 59   | Voltorb            |    1 |   0.43% | 100.00% |
| 59   | Quaxly             |    1 |   0.43% | 100.00% |
| 59   | Pineco             |    1 |   0.43% | 100.00% |
| 59   | Clauncher          |    1 |   0.43% | 100.00% |
| 59   | Tadbulb            |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Numel              |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Skrelp             |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Scorbunny          |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Venonat            |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Meowth             |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Smoliv             |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Hatenna            |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Fidough            |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Nymble             |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Mareanie           |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |
| 59   | Fomantis           |    1 |   0.43% |   0.00% |

 

[jcbc]

Voting has finished! After a discussion within the council we went over Dunsparce, Misdreavus and Girafarig. Getting the following results:

​

This means following a 7/7 which is a 100% of the votes being proban, Dunsparce is banned!The RNG it brought to every game was deemed unhealthy by the council. On top of it, Misdreavus while not close to the 60% threshold needed for it be banned, still got support for it to be banned so we will keep an eye on it (and other threats that could rise).

Tagging Marty and Kris to implement the dunsparce ban.

 

[GasaiYunoSan]

Hello everyone, im back with a lot of ideas to the VR.
Gen 9 have a surprise for the LC players, mienfoo is missing :o, and this opens the way to an unexplored world after the reign of 4 generations of Mienfoo, now mankey r viable(? well, with nothing more to say, I proceed to make my VR nominations.

Croagunk to tier 3: Croagunk have fake out and good typing, with stab fighting and poison can hit a lot of pokemons with his damage (Gunk shot, focus blast, sludge bomb or drain punch for more sustain) can be a good pokemon for balanced or offense teams, its versatile.

Larvesta to tier 4: Larvesta can be scarf or bulky mon, can played with wow, protect, flare blitz and u turn or scarfed adamant with flare blitz, wild charge, u turn and any other innecesary mov(? good to play mixed with heat wave in sun too.

Bronzor for tier 5: imprison trick room and good antiroom mon, can use stealth rocks or block protect.

Charmander for tier 5: Scarf or specs in sun, dont need to say more (scarf heat wave in sun with tera fire and solar power).

Grimer for tier 4: pokemon with good defensive stats, with gunk shot can kill a lot of pokemons and have good cobertures, adamant can be played in balanceds or trick room sweeper.

Numel for tier 5: Good trick room attacker or set up mon, can be played with growth nitrocharge and spam heat wave with tera fire for best damage or water for best setup, have good typing too.

Makuhita for tier 4: good lead for trick room, have fake out and guts if u want damage with flame orb, eviol if want bulk, with fake out, close combat. knock and protect can be good if u want flame orb or fake out, cc, feint and wideguard if want eviol.

Thats all, I hope my ideas contribute to the meta and the community, see u next time!

 

[jcbc]

I'm just going to drop my two cents on the metagame right now, meta have shapped a lot with all the tours going on and some bans here and there so without further do let me explain what changes on the viability ranks i would personally do.

RISES
​

Glimmet from t3 to t2 - Huge special attack with good typing and all type of hazards is just so good.

Gothita from t3 to t2 - Offensive trapping goth is as good ass it was last gen. It can put the opponent in so much pressure if played correctly.

Growlithe from t3 to t2 - Growlithe was extremely spammed early metagame however it got super low usage recently for who knows what reason. Fast wow, snarl and intimidate is amazing.

Wattrel from t3 to t2 - To me wattrel has shown to be if not the best tailwind user, one fighting for the spot. It has a phenomenal typing with 2 very good abilities on volt absorb and wind rider.

Snover from t4 to t3 - This is mainly because i always thought that the setter is always in need to be if not at the same tier of the abusers if not higher since it's the one that allow them.

Voltorb from t4 to t3 - 20 speed with a pretty good typing is great but with teras, you can tera ice to go over ground- types and Foongus.

Finneon from t5 to t3 - Finneon is a versatile tailwind user, with storm drain it can be quite util with water types around like wingull, surskit or the rain users. It's also quite fast so it can be threatning if you let it slide.

Shinx from t5 to t4 - Shinx has surprisingly proved to be quite useful, intimidate with snarl and natural ways to hit grounds is very good with a good plethora of utility options aswell as having the option of being offensive guts.

DROPS​

Girafarig from t1 to t2 - With Misdreavus around and so many dark- and steel- types around it's hard to pull wins mainly with giraffe.

Gastly from t2 to t3 - There's not a lot to say here, Gastly overall is a very good pokemon but so far as we have Misdreavus in the tier, it loses a lot of value and is very hard to use over it.

Cetoddle from t3 to t4 - Belly Drum cetoddle is a menace under trick room, unprepared teams just get owned by it, however with the nerf it got by the loss of berry juice it's got less use lately and thus is harder to tell how good it is currently.

Toedscool from t3 to t4 - With how the current metagame is right now toedscool is in a weird spot, it's one of the very few knock off users in the tier, with great coverage and access to trick room. However the x4 ice weakness with how popular is icy wind makes it struggle quite a bit.

Flittle from t4 to t5 - Flittle can be quite threatning with speed boost and all however it's yet to show big results and is not deserved of being higher in the ranks.

Sandile from t4 to t5 - Sandile is a good intimidate option with great typing and coverage gives a bit of help overall. However it doesn't really beat the higher speed ghost- and psychic- types.

Venonat from t5 to UR - Having rage powder doesn't give it enough niche to be ranked afaik.Typing is good and bulk is somewhat decent but it has nothing else and there's not a lot of reasons right now as to why you would use this over foongus and/or toedscool.

NEW ADDITIONS
​

Magnemite from UR to t3 - I don't even know how this wasn't ranked before lol. Magnemite is pretty good at what it does, being a scarfer with barely no switchins or abusing trick room with a phenomenal typing.

​

Meowth-Galar from UR to t3 - Having a great typing nad tough claws fake out + coverage is grwat but it also has stealth rocks to help.

​

Maschiff from UR to t3 - Similar to magnemite i don't know why this wasnt ranked earlier. Great typing with intimidate huge coverage and the option to be stakeout under trick room is very good.

Zorua from UR to t3 - It's honestly pretty good with how few knock off users are around. And is also quite fast so that coupled with the 50/50 that it brings with the ability is quite decent.

Bramblin from UR to t4 - Being inmune to wind moves while being a ghost type is very good, it cant rlly defeat girafarig unless you use tera blast dark but overall is a pretty strong pokemon and i could see a rise even farther but will be shy on how far i want to push it.

Larvesta from UR to t4 - As gasai said, it can be quite threatning if taking lightly. Both STAB's are super strong and it hits quite hard.

Charmander from UR to t4 - As Gasai said, under sun it's quite scary. It can fall flat if you lose momentum but overall quite threatning if underprepped.

Deerling from UR to t4 - Now that dunsparce is gone this is the new dunsparce, just not as good due to having way less bulk but is good.

Houndour from UR to t5 - Houndour is quite good, with flash fire and a dark- STAB it can boast so many attacks around with success.

Numel from UR to t5 - It's a very good trick room attacker or set up mon, can be played with growth under sun or with TrailBlaze and spam heat wave or earth power this can be handled far away with water-/grass- type for best setup.

Mareanie from UR to t5 - Mareanie has still a niche despite it losing scald and recover being lowered, it still has a big bulk and access to Tspikes. It also has haze for the setup sweepers that are around.

Sandygast from UR to t5 - The sand castle is actually quite nice with teras, being able to use earth power and Shadow Ball and also having recovery is quite nice.

Tadbulb from UR to t5 - Now i have honestly no faith on the rest of the council giving it the spot but i really think tadbulb has a very cool niche as a pseudo voltorb under trick room.

Hoppip from UR to t5 - It's one of the very few chloropyll users and it brings tailwind for sun which is something it usually lacks.

So this would be it for now, thanks for reading my opinion and of course feel free to give your own one or reply to mine if you think i'm wrong with anything, i'm always down to debate. I probably wont be adding any new nominations myself but i will try to reply to anyone that replies to me or that gives any new nomination.

 

[Actuarily]

With the conclusion of Maushold Cup and the ongoing Doubles LC Kickoff, it’s time for a VR update! Here’s the results from the councils’ vote reflecting those meta changes:

Risers

T3 -> T2
T3 -> T2
T3 -> T2
T3 -> T2
T3 -> T2
T5 -> T3
UR -> T3
UR -> T3
T4 -> T3
T4 -> T3
T4 -> T3
UR -> T4
T5 -> T4
UR -> T4
UR -> T4
UR -> T4
UR -> T4
T5 -> T4
UR -> T4
UR -> T5
UR -> T5
UR -> T5
UR -> T5
UR -> T5

Drops

T1 -> T2
T2 -> T3
T3 -> T4
T3 -> T4
T3 -> T5
T4 -> T5
T4 -> T5
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR
T5 -> UR

Didn’t Make the Cut

Votes

 

[jcbc]

2023 DLC Circuit​

The DLC Circuit will consist of the following tournaments:

• Winter Seasonal
• Swiss Kickoff
• Summer Seasonal
• "Last Chance" Tour

This all concludes with the DLC Invitational, during which the Top 16 players based on Circuit Points earned through the year will fight for the title of 2023 DLC circuit winner. A breakdown of how many points can be earned via each tournament is below.

Single elimination tours will use this for scoring and double elimination tours will use this. Note that the listed point values are for Type A Tournaments, Type B and C Tournaments will use ratios of 3:2 and 3:1 for equivalent placements.

Type A:​

Seasonals: The Seasonaal will be a double elimination tournament, with the number of rounds determined by the amount of signups.

Type B:​

Swiss Kickoff: The Swiss Kickoff tournament will be a swiss-style tournament with no top cut. The number of rounds will be determined by the amount of signups, there will be enough rounds to determine a clear winner.

Last Chance Tournament: The last chance tournament will be a single elimination style tournament, with the number of rounds decided by signups.

Below is the schedule for the 2023 Doubles LC Circuit. Stated dates are for Round 1, not signups, which are usually 1 week prior. Length of tournaments are estimates, dependent on signups.

2023 Doubles LittleCup Circuit Schedule

Winter Seasonal
Feb 27th - Apr 10th

Swiss Kickoff
May 8st - June 19th

Summer Seasonal
July 10th - Sep 4th

Last Chance
Sept 18th - Nov 6th

Invitationals
Nov 27th - Dec 25th

The spreadsheet with the points each player has will be released in the future.

 

[JoshLove2020]

I think buizel is better than it is given credit for, as it often has to be directly prepped for in teambuilding. Wave crash in rain is just so strong that buizel alone makes rain a threat, and causes some players to run full rain or run storm drain when they might otherwise not have it on their team.

 

[jcbc]

I think buizel is better than it is given credit for, as it often has to be directly prepped for in teambuilding. Wave crash in rain is just so strong that buizel alone makes rain a threat, and causes some players to run full rain or run storm drain when they might otherwise not have it on their team.

This doesn't reflect the whole council opinion but rather just mine. While buizel can bring a great sweeper/breaker into the table for rain with a really high base speed and a decent attack, it relays to much on Wave Crash for dealing damage shich diminish the turns it gets to attack by a lot. And then there's the issue of it having some what of a 4MSS (4 move syndrome slot) where it wants all of Wave Crash, Tera Blast (tera electric) to break through water- types, Bulk Up to get that jump on attack that it really needs in order for it to get certain OHKO's, Protect which is a must for positioning and Ice Spinner to be able to kill Foongus. All of this in combination with a not very good bulk makes it prone go die before sweeping which is what it wants. This doesn't mean it won't win ever. Of course it can sometimes makethe work and sweep break enough. However, rain is a go forward strategy where if you lose momentum one or two turns coming back from that point gets really hard. I would also say, Psyduck is the superior sweeper as it doesn't have as much of a 4MSS and also doesn't get thrown over by the best ability in any doubles format Intimidate.

 

[JoshLove2020]

I think one of the most important calcs related to buizel is that wave crash in rain can 2hko foongus. It really likes something like tera grass over tera electric due to the immunity to rage powder and spore, and tera blast grass can act as a secondary attacking move for it. You can run protect, ice spinner, wave crash and tera grass blast to pretty nicely fill out its offensive coverage, since water/ice is only resisted by water itself.