Metagame DP VGC 2008-2010

[oopsgtg]

This thread is dedicated to the Generation 4 VGC formats, namely VGC 2009 (Double Cup) and 2010 (GS Cup).
Rather than strictly adhere to the flawed tournament rules of the time, today we play with modified rules, with Best of 3, Team Preview or even Open Team Sheet.

Battle Rules

• Double Battles
• Level 50 (or under)
• Species Clause, Item Clause, Self-KO Clause
• Soul Dew item is banned
• Bring 6 Choose 4, Best of 3
• All teams have an item list, any item can be switched between games (for example Game 1 Metagross can hold Lum Berry, then Game 2 Metagross can switch to Choice Scarf)

Official Rules from 2009

Pokemon Restrictions

• 2009: Mewtwo, Mew, Tyranitar, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Rotom, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin and Arceus are not eligible
• 2010: Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin and Arceus are not eligible
• Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina limited to up to 4 per team and up to 2 per game

Notable Generation IV Mechanics

Mechanics Details

• Steel resists Ghost and Dark
• Explosion and Self-destruct cut the targets' Defence stats by half
• Grass types are affected by powders, Electric types can be paralyzed
• Protect has a ½ then ¼, ⅛ etc chance of working in succession
• Critical Hits do 2x Damage and occur 1/16 times
• Move order is determined at the beginning of the turn and Speed is not updated until the end of the turn
• Damage is calculated one target at a time, so Spread Damage moves like Rock Slide or Earthquake can do single target damage if they KO the faster target(s). Additionally, Explosion and Self-destruct deal single target damage for the last two targets. (NB: This mechanic is currently a bug on showdown so at time of writing this is only applicable to cartridge play)
• Sleep Status lasts 1-4 turns (except in Japanese versions of DP and PBR in which it lasts 2-5 turns)
• Fake Out has lower priority (+1) than Follow Me (+3)
• Weather summoned by Abilities is permanent
• Feint has higher BP (50) but only attacks if the target uses Protect/Detect
• Mental Herb does not cure the holder of Disable, Encore, Heal Block, Taunt, or Torment, only Infatuation
• Tailwind lasts 3, not 4, turns
• Taunt lasts 3-5 turns, Disable has 80% accuracy and lasts 4-7 turns, Encore lasts 4-8 turns and has random targeting (like Outrage)
• A Pokemon holding Life Orb does not take recoil if its attack hits a Substitute
• Various moves have different BP
  • Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Fire Blast and Thunder have 120, not 110, BP
  • Draco Meteor, Overheat and Leaf Storm, have 140, not 130, BP
  • Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Muddy Water have 95, not 90, BP
  • Dark Void has 80%, not 50%, Accuracy and can be sketched by Smeargle
  • Hidden Power has a maximum of 70, not 60, BP
  • Knock Off has 20, not 65, BP
  • Heat Wave has 100, not 95, BP
  • Dragon Pulse has 90, not 85, BP
  • Aura Sphere has 90, not 80 BP
  • Energy Ball has 80, not 90, BP
  • Meteor Mash has 100 BP and 85% Accuracy, not 90 BP and 90% Accuracy
  • Will-O-Wisp has 75%, not 85%, Accuracy
  • In DP & PBR only, Hypnosis has 70%, not 60%, Accuracy

Speed Tiers

VGC 2009 Speed Tiers

Speed	Sprite	Pokemon	Base Speed	EVs/Nature	IVs	Modifier
294		Yanmega	95	252S	31	+2
274		Kingdra	85	252S	31	+2
266		Gyarados	81	252S	31	+2
244		Ludicolo	70	252S	31	+2
243		Latios	110	252S	31	+1
231		Garchomp	102	252S	31	+1
228		Zapdos/Typhlosion/Staraptor/Salamence	100	252S	31	+1
220		Yanmega	95	252S	31	+1
208		Smeargle	75	252S+	31	+1
200		Crobat/Aerodactyl	130	252S+	31
199		Gyarados	81	252S	31	+1
198		Togekiss	80	252S	31	+1
194		Weavile	125	252S+	31
193		Heatran	77	252S	31	+1
184		Abomasnow	60	252S+	31	+1
183		Azelf/Raikou/Starmie/Ambipom	115	252S+	31
183		Metagross	70	252S	31	+1
178		Latios/Latias/Gengar	110	252S+	31
176		Infernape	108	252S+	31
175		Machamp	55	252S+	31	+1
169		Garchomp	102	252S+	31
167		Zapdos/Typhlosion/Staraptor/Salamence	100	252S+	31
161		Yanmega/Arcanine	95	252S+	31
156		Kangaskhan/Moltres/Lucario	90	252S+	31
152		Zapdos/Typhlosion/Staraptor/Salamence	100	252S	31
150		Kingdra/Suicune/Cresselia/Heracross/Toxicroak	85	252S+	31
147		Yanmega/Arcanine	95	252S	31
146		Gyarados	81	252S+	31
145		Togekiss/Mamoswine	80	252S+	31
142		Kangaskhan/Moltres/Lucario	90	252S	31
141		Heatran	77	252S+	31
139		Smeargle	75	252S+	31
137		Kingdra/Suicune/Cresselia/Heracross/Toxicroak	85	252S	31
134		Metagross/Breloom	70	252S+	31
133		Gyarados	81	252S	31
133		Crobat/Aerodactyl	130	252S+	31	-1
132		Togekiss/Mamoswine	80	252S	31
129		Heatran	77	252S	31
129		Weavile	125	252S+	31	-1
123		Empoleon/Abomasnow	60	252S+	31
122		Metagross/Breloom/Ludicolo	70	252S	31
122		Azelf/Raikou/Starmie/Ambipom	115	252S	31	-1
120		Zapdos	100	0S	31
118		Latios/Latias/Gengar	110	252S+	31	-1
117		Infernape	108	252S+	31	-1
115		Arcanine	95	0S	31
112		Empoleon/Abomasnow	60	252S	31
112		Garchomp	102	252S+	31	-1
110		Kangaskhan	90	0S	31
110		Zapdos/Typhlosion/Staraptor/Salamence	100	252S+	31	-1
105		Suicune/Cresselia/Heracross/Kingdra	85	0S	31
101		Gyarados	81	0S	31
100		Togekiss	80	0S	31
97		Heatran	77	0S	31
92		Shedinja/Rhyperior	40	252S	31
90		Metagross	70	0S	31
85		Scizor/Vaporeon	65	0S	31
81		Suicune/Cresselia/Heracross/Kingdra	85	0S-	0
80		Swampert/Empoleon/Abomasnow	60	0S	31
76		Togekiss	80	0S-	0
70		Hariyama/Regirock/Azumarill	50	0S	31
68		Kingdra	85	252S	31	+2 Paralyzed
67		Metagross	70	0S-	0
60		Rhyperior	40	0S	31
58		Swampert/Empoleon/Abomasnow	60	0S-	0
54		Machamp	55	0S-	0
52		Smeargle	75	252S+	31	+1 Paralyzed
50		Snorlax	30	0S	31
49		Hariyama/Regirock/Azumarill	50	0S-	0
44		Latios/Latias/Gengar/Infernape	110	252S+	31	Paralyzed
40		Rhyperior/Shedinja	40	0S-	0
34		Bronzong	33	0S-	0
31		Snorlax	30	0S-	0
17		Bronzong	33	0S-	0	-2
5		Smeargle	75	0S	0	Level 1

VGC 2010 Speed Tiers

Speed	Sprite	Pokemon	Base Speed	EVs/Nature	IVs	Modifier
356		Jumpluff	110	252S+	31	+2
274		Kingdra	85	252S	31	+2
250		Palkia/Salamence/Staraptor	100	252S+	31	+1
244		Ludicolo	70	252S	31	+2
241		Rayquaza	95	252S+	31	+1
234		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	252S+	31	+1
228		Palkia/Salamence/Staraptor	100	252S	31	+1
226		Rotom-Frost	86	252S+	31	+1
220		Rayquaza	95	252S	31	+1
217		Togekiss	80	252S+	31	+1
213		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	252S	31	+1
208		Smeargle	75	252S+	31	+1
200		Mewtwo	130	252S+	31
194		Weavile	125	252S+	31
183		Azelf	115	252S+	31
182		Mewtwo	130	252S	31
178		Lugia/Latios/Latias/Gengar/Jumpluff	110	252S+	31
176		Infernape	108	252S+	31
169		Garchomp	102	252S+	31
167		Palkia/Salamence/Staraptor/Zapdos	100	252S+	31
161		Rayquaza	95	252S+	31
156		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Giratina-Origin/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	252S+	31
152		Palkia/Salamence/Staraptor/Zapdos	100	252S	31
151		Rotom-Frost	86	252S+	31
150		Toxicroak	85	252S+	31
145		Togekiss	80	252S+	31
142		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Giratina-Origin/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	252S	31
139		Smeargle	75	252S+	31
137		Kingdra/Toxicroak	85	252S	31
122		Ludicolo	70	252S	31
110		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Giratina-Origin/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	0S	31
106		Rotom-Frost	86	0S	31
105		Cresselia/Kingdra	85	0S	31
100		Togekiss	80	0S	31
94		Palkia	100	0S-	0
92		Shedinja	40	252S	31
90		Metagross/Hitmontop/Ludicolo	70	0S	31
85		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	0S-	0
81		Cresselia	85	0S-	0
76		Togekiss	80	0S-	0
75		Blissey	55	0S	31
67		Metagross/Hitmontop	70	0S-	0
62		Palkia/Salamence/Staraptor	100	252S+	31	+1 Paralyzed
59		Tyranitar	61	0S-	0
58		Abomasnow	60	0S-	0
58		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	252S+	31	+1 Paralyzed
52		Smeargle	75	252S+	31	+1 Paralyzed
50		Snorlax	30	0S	31
49		Hariyama	50	0S-	0
47		Palkia	100	0S-	0	-2
42		Kyogre/Dialga/Giratina/Groudon/Ho-Oh	90	0S-	0	-2
40		Rhyperior	40	0S-	0
34		Bronzong	33	0S-	0
31		Snorlax/Parasect	30	0S-	0
5		Smeargle	75	0S	0	Level 1

History

History

The origins of the modern Pokemon Video Game Championship circuit reside in the 4th generation of games. Using rules that would be mostly recognisable to modern VGC players, World Championships took place in ‘08, ‘09 and ‘10 for the first time for the Video Game since 2000.

The story of the 2008 World Championships begins in 2007, with a series of 6 Regional Championships held in Japan on the new Diamond/Pearl games, the winners of which attended a National Championship where Izuru “MOLF” Yoshimura was crowned victor seen here, using his distinctive strategy of L1 Trick Room Hypnosis lead and Belly Drum paired with Psych Up in the back.
In 2008, two regionals were held in the US, with the most successful players taking a great deal of inspiration from the mature Japanese metagame. In Orlando, 32 American and 32 Japanese players faced off in the Video Game Showdown, with now famous names such as Aaron Zheng and Ray Rizzo in attendance. In the Seniors division Japan dominated, MOLF repeated his victory undefeated with the same team. In the Juniors division Knight Silvayne managed to win with unusual picks like .
After the success of this first trial year, TPC decided to expand the World Championship to Europe and increased the quantity of events in both America and Japan. Japan had an astonishing 47 regionals, at least one in each Prefecture, with the top performers attending a National championship once again. This year Takahiro Akai won with an unusual Rain team.
In the states there were 6 regionals, which suffered from massive amounts of oversubscription and limited venue sizes, leading to a lottery system of entry which at some events denied the majority of prospective competitors who went to the effort of showing up. Nonetheless these regionals were followed by a US national championship, where Mike Suleski was crowned the first US National Champion, defeating his friend and travel buddy seen here. In Europe there were three National Championships in the UK, Germany and France to the great disappointment of the sizable Spanish competitive community, who had to settle with a chaotically organised regional with bizarre rules (3v3 Doubles).
After the National Championships had concluded, the top performers in each region were invited to attend the 2009 Pokemon World Championships in San Diego. At this event Kazuyuki Tsuji piloted a creative team composed of to an undefeated run, winning in a finals that featured such opposing pokemon as and which have been seldom seen before or since, seen here.
For the 2010 circuit, TPC decided to keep things mostly the same, except they made a major change to the rules, allowing up to 2 ‘Restricted’ Legendary Pokemon to be used per game. In Japan Ryo Tajiri came out on top with a team utilising the brand new event which learns the moves Sheer Cold and Extreme Speed. In America, Wesley Morioka brought a to victory 4 years early in an event that experienced a surge of unique defensive teams, featuring high usage. Europe saw an additional Spanish National, where Mario Diaz de Cerio Beltran won with on his team, although it was never used in the tournament.
At Worlds 2010 in Hawaii, Ray Rizzo won his first of three World Championships in a thrilling run that is well documented by his worlds war story against tough competition, with a top cut featuring Huy Ha bringing , the 2004 Japan National Champion and a fierce finals opponent who came very close to bringing the World title to Japan for a third consecutive year.

Resources

• Gen 4/5 VGC Discord: https://discord.gg/bvj553yAdJ
• Gen 3 VGC (Orre): https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/orre-colosseum-now-playable.3698894/
• Poké Classic Network DNS for online cartridge battles: 178.62.43.212

 

[oopsgtg]

Sample Teams

VGS 2008
Chris Tsai's Los Angeles Regional Winning Team
Bonta-kun's New York Regional Winning Team
MOLF's 2008 World Championship Winning Team

VGC 2009
Len Deuel's Dallas Regional Winning Team
OmegaDonut's US Nationals Winning Team
Kazuyuki Tsuji's 2009 World Championship Winning Team

VGC 2010
makiri's Seattle Regional Winning Team
Kazayuki Tsuji's 11th Place Worlds Team
Huy Ha's 5th Place Worlds Team
Ray Rizzo's 2010 World Championship Winning Team

 

[oopsgtg]

Viability Rankings

VGC 2009

VGC 2009

S
Metagross
Latios
Cresselia
A

Zapdos

Bronzong
Gyarados

Heatran

Infernape
Swampert

Garchomp
Togekiss
B

Abomasnow

Rhyperior

Smeargle
Snorlax
Suicune
Latias

Salamence
C

Gengar
Yanmega
Azelf
Hariyama
Weavile
Shedinja
Clefable

Ludicolo

Scizor
Machamp
Arcanine
Empoleon
Mamoswine
D

Hitmontop
Dusknoir
Hippowdon
Electivire
Magmortar

VGC 2010

Restricted

S
Dialga
Kyogre
A
Palkia
Groudon
B
Mewtwo
Giratina
Giratina-O
C
Ho-Oh
Rayquaza
Lugia

Non-Restricted

S
Cresselia
Ludicolo
Tyranitar
A
Infernape
Togekiss
Abomasnow
Metagross
Smeargle
Latios
Latias
B
Hitmontop
Jumpluff
Bronzong
Kingdra
Blissey
Toxicroak
C
Rotom-A
Parasect
Hariyama
Shedinja
Scizor
Rhyperior
Zapdos

 

[Jaden_Copeland]

Viability Rankings

VGC 2009

VGC 2009

S
Metagross
Latios
Cresselia
Zapdos
A
Garchomp
Gyarados
Swampert
Bronzong
Heatran
Togekiss
B
Snorlax
Rhyperior
Abomasnow
Infernape
Gengar
Suicune
Scizor
C
Hariyama
Hitmontop
Empoleon
Ludicolo
Salamence
Smeargle
Clefable
Heracross
Hippowdon

VGC 2010

Restricted

S
Dialga
Kyogre
A
Palkia
Groudon
B
Mewtwo
Giratina
Giratina-O
C
Ho-Oh
Rayquaza
Lugia

Non-Restricted

S
Cresselia
Ludicolo
Tyranitar
A
Infernape
Togekiss
Abomasnow
Metagross
Smeargle
Latios
Latias
B
Hitmontop
Jumpluff
Bronzong
Kingdra
Blissey
Toxicroak
C
Rotom-A
Parasect
Hariyama
Shedinja
Scizor
Rhyperior
Zapdos

I do want to ask though in JAA Format from back in 2006 Mewtwo was considered pretty viable, but in VGC10 it's not considered viable, is that like a thing about Mewtwo being good in JAA but bad in VGC10 because of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, or is it more of a thing where Mewtwo isn't actually good in JAA format and players at the time just overrated it? I saw someone talk about stuff like this with how nobody ran Rock Slide back then despite it being such a strong move which later became a VGC staple.

 

[MosquitoVGC]

I do want to ask though in JAA Format from back in 2006 Mewtwo was considered pretty viable, but in VGC10 it's not considered viable, is that like a thing about Mewtwo being good in JAA but bad in VGC10 because of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, or is it more of a thing where Mewtwo isn't actually good in JAA format and players at the time just overrated it? I saw someone talk about stuff like this with how nobody ran Rock Slide back then despite it being such a strong move which later became a VGC staple.

The answer to this is a combination of two things:

1. Difference in limitations
Mewtwo's dominance in JAA2006 is a result of no limit on Restricted Legendaries. In such a world, there's no reason to not use the the highest BST 'mons with the flexibility to fit onto any team. That is, Mewtwo and Lugia. We've confirmed that limiting the number of Restricteds nerfs Mewtwo because the recent Gen. III GS Cup tournament saw Mewtwo on only 30% of teams, as opposed to nearly 100% in JAA. The 2-Restricted limit in VGC2010 (Gen. IV GS Cup) thus limits Mewtwo's usage.

2. Better alternatives
In Gen. III, there are only 6 Restricteds, and Rayquaza and Ho-oh aren't particularly good in that Generation. In Gen. IV, Mewtwo not only has to compete with the Sinnoh Dragon Trio, but most Restricteds gained "buffs" due to new moves/items or mechanics changes (e.g. physical Sacred Fire for Ho-oh, Focus Sash + Draco Meteor for Rayquaza, only 75% spread reduction on Water Spout for Kyogre). Mewtwo, in comparison gains... Aura Sphere and Grass Knot. Nice moves, but not as game-breaking as STAB Draco Meteor off base 150 Sp. Atk.

 

[Potatoman299]

I do want to ask though in JAA Format from back in 2006 Mewtwo was considered pretty viable, but in VGC10 it's not considered viable, is that like a thing about Mewtwo being good in JAA but bad in VGC10 because of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, or is it more of a thing where Mewtwo isn't actually good in JAA format and players at the time just overrated it? I saw someone talk about stuff like this with how nobody ran Rock Slide back then despite it being such a strong move which later became a VGC staple.

Although I can't speak on the JAA metagme, Mewtwo was actually pretty relevant to the overall metagame of VGC10 as It was frequently seen alongside Abomasnow as a hail abuser to dish out immediate offensive power with Blizzard boasting offensive options like Grass Knot and Aura Sphere to offensively threaten metagame staples such as Kyogre, Groudon, and Tyranitar. Although Mewtwo was usually ran with an offensive set, American VGC player Huy Ha ran a defensive set with Mewtwo since the threat of Abomasnow's weather would force switches allowing for it to setup Trick Room. This strategy rewarded him 5th place at the VGC10 World Championships.

 

[oopsgtg]

Sorry for not updating the thread in a while, but in the last few months we have had various tournaments in the VGC 2009 format.

In addition to this post, I have also updated the VGC 2009 Viability Ranking, with a new community ranking as determined by the top players in these recent tournaments.

Sinnoh Cup 3

Sinnoh Cup 3 used ‘Flat rules’ which allows Pokemon with Level up moves that require being above L50 (most significantly Close Combat Hitmontop), as well as any event distributions released after WCS 2009 (most significantly Eruption Heatran).

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Metagross          |   44 |  46.81% |  56.82% |
| 2    | Zapdos             |   43 |  45.74% |  60.47% |
| 3    | Cresselia          |   32 |  34.04% |  37.50% |
| 4    | Garchomp           |   31 |  32.98% |  58.06% |
| 4    | Latios             |   31 |  32.98% |  41.94% |
| 6    | Hitmontop          |   26 |  27.66% |  53.85% |
| 7    | Heatran            |   20 |  21.28% |  35.00% |
| 8    | Gyarados           |   14 |  14.89% |  71.43% |
| 8    | Snorlax            |   14 |  14.89% |   7.14% |
| 10   | Gengar             |   12 |  12.77% |  41.67% |
| 11   | Bronzong           |    9 |   9.57% |  55.56% |
| 12   | Smeargle           |    8 |   8.51% |  37.50% |
| 13   | Electivire         |    7 |   7.45% |  85.71% |
| 13   | Infernape          |    7 |   7.45% |  28.57% |
| 15   | Swampert           |    6 |   6.38% |  33.33% |
| 16   | Rhyperior          |    5 |   5.32% | 100.00% |
| 16   | Yanmega            |    5 |   5.32% |  80.00% |
| 16   | Togekiss           |    5 |   5.32% |  60.00% |
| 16   | Dusknoir           |    5 |   5.32% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Lanturn            |    4 |   4.26% |  75.00% |
| 20   | Hippowdon          |    4 |   4.26% |  50.00% |
| 20   | Abomasnow          |    4 |   4.26% |   0.00% |
| 20   | Machamp            |    4 |   4.26% |   0.00% |
| 24   | Suicune            |    3 |   3.19% | 100.00% |
| 24   | Roserade           |    3 |   3.19% |  33.33% |
| 26   | Raichu             |    2 |   2.13% | 100.00% |
| 26   | Milotic            |    2 |   2.13% |  50.00% |
| 26   | Scizor             |    2 |   2.13% |   0.00% |
| 26   | Regice             |    2 |   2.13% |   0.00% |
| 26   | Marowak            |    2 |   2.13% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Empoleon           |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Mamoswine          |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |

Sinnoh Cup 4

Sinnoh Cup 4 had a Level 50 cap, as in 2009, and disallowed all event distributions after WCS 2009.

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Latios             |   57 |  46.72% |  57.89% |
| 1    | Metagross          |   57 |  46.72% |  50.88% |
| 3    | Zapdos             |   55 |  45.08% |  49.09% |
| 4    | Cresselia          |   37 |  30.33% |  62.16% |
| 4    | Infernape          |   37 |  30.33% |  56.76% |
| 6    | Garchomp           |   32 |  26.23% |  31.25% |
| 7    | Snorlax            |   20 |  16.39% |  45.00% |
| 8    | Bronzong           |   18 |  14.75% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Swampert           |   18 |  14.75% |  38.89% |
| 10   | Gyarados           |   16 |  13.11% |  56.25% |
| 11   | Togekiss           |   15 |  12.30% |  60.00% |
| 12   | Heatran            |   13 |  10.66% |  53.85% |
| 13   | Gengar             |   11 |   9.02% |  27.27% |
| 14   | Hariyama           |   10 |   8.20% |  60.00% |
| 15   | Yanmega            |    8 |   6.56% |  62.50% |
| 15   | Milotic            |    8 |   6.56% |  25.00% |
| 15   | Roserade           |    8 |   6.56% |  25.00% |
| 18   | Latias             |    7 |   5.74% |  42.86% |
| 18   | Suicune            |    7 |   5.74% |  14.29% |
| 20   | Clefable           |    6 |   4.92% |  50.00% |
| 20   | Arcanine           |    6 |   4.92% |  50.00% |
| 20   | Heracross          |    6 |   4.92% |  16.67% |
| 23   | Abomasnow          |    5 |   4.10% |  40.00% |
| 24   | Rhyperior          |    3 |   2.46% | 100.00% |
| 24   | Glaceon            |    3 |   2.46% |  66.67% |
| 24   | Scizor             |    3 |   2.46% |  33.33% |
| 27   | Rampardos          |    2 |   1.64% | 100.00% |
| 27   | Electivire         |    2 |   1.64% |  50.00% |
| 27   | Porygon-Z          |    2 |   1.64% |  50.00% |
| 27   | Lucario            |    2 |   1.64% |  50.00% |
| 27   | Raikou             |    2 |   1.64% |   0.00% |
| 32   | Weavile            |    1 |   0.82% | 100.00% |
| 32   | Machamp            |    1 |   0.82% | 100.00% |
| 32   | Smeargle           |    1 |   0.82% | 100.00% |
| 32   | Ludicolo           |    1 |   0.82% |   0.00% |
| 32   | Marowak            |    1 |   0.82% |   0.00% |
| 32   | Starmie            |    1 |   0.82% |   0.00% |

Metagame Analysis

The two most dominant Pokemon in the 2009 season have diverged in terms of viability in recent tournaments. Metagross continues to thrive with its plethora of useful resistances, excellent ability, movepool and stat distribution which allows it to function in and out of Trick Room, with a Choice Scarf or any other form of speed control and an attack stat which demands respect even from the bulkiest opponents.
Snorlax however has struggled relative to its performance 15 years ago, facing competition for dedicated Trick Room sweeper from Rhyperior and disliking the prevalence of Fighting types and Intimidate. Additionally when playing with team preview, its role compression as a check to Rain, Trick Room and a positive overall matchup spread is generally not as preferred as more specialist choices.
Regardless, both Pokemon still demand respect, and Snorlax has had a slight resurgence with many players appreciating the threat imposed by having a strong Explosion (or Self-destruct) available for example to easily trade favourably and eliminate threats.

Surprisingly uncommon in 2009 (perhaps due in part to the extreme difficulty of obtaining an optimal Latios pre-HGSS), Latios has surged in usage to be an equal contender for best Pokemon in the format alongside Metagross, with the strongest Draco Meteor in the format which acts as one of the standard benchmarks for defensive EVs to withstand.
The combination of speed, power and flexibility makes Latios among the most consistent threats in the format, warping the metagame to favour Pokemon who dissuade Draco Meteor such as Metagross, Bronzong, Heatran and Cresselia.

Hitmontop is an interesting case of a Pokemon which is greatly punished by VGC 2009 not using ‘Flat rules’ like modern VGC, instead any Pokemon above L50 is not permissible and as a result Hitmontop cannot use Close Combat. As Sinnoh Cup 3 was played with Flat rules, Hitmontop prospered in spite of the undisputed top 3 (Metagross, Latios, Cresselia) having a favourable matchup against it as a Fighting type. However without access to Close Combat, Hitmontop greatly struggles to compress offensive options with team support in a harmonious way, which means that it is often outclassed by other options who are either better at exerting pressure or supporting.
While most in the recent VGC 2009 tournaments didn’t recognise its potential initially, Infernape has supplanted Hitmontop as the premier Fake Out Fighting type with a blend of offence and support. With Fire/Fighting is excellent coverage and Infernape makes great use of Encore, which in Generation 4 lasts 4-8 turns and disallows the affected from targeting their moves (instead they are randomly targeted).

Explosion is a significant obstacle for Cresselia relative to future generations. Cresselia rarely carries protect and as a result is a premium target of Explosion/Self-destruct, however some players have adapted to this expectation and decided to bring Protect Cresselia to add counterplay to Explosion despite limiting Cresselia in other ways (only having 3 move slots is usually insufficient to fit all the support/coverage options Cresselia desires). Nonetheless it remains a staple for balance teams with an incredible stat spread and support moveset.
Cresselia faces competition as a Trick Room setter from Bronzong, which was extremely popular in 2009 due to having access to Explosion and resisting Explosion, having a lower speed stat to benefit from Trick Room and useful disruptive moves like Hypnosis (which in DP and PBR had 70% accuracy). Bronzong is less flexible than Cresselia and only sees use as a dedicated Trick Room setter, frequently paired with redirection from Smeargle or Togekiss as Taunt is not blocked by Mental Herb in generation 4.

Hail has a significant niche in the VGC 2009 format, Abomasnow faces little competition from other weathers with the only other legal weather setter being Hippowdon (Tyranitar is banned by VGC 2009 rules). Often paired with Choice Specs Suicune, Abomasnow acts as a strong antimeta option to answer the many Ice weak teams with Blizzard spam. Abomasnow is primarily used on Trick Room teams but can benefit from other speed control options.

Additionally, I would like to highlight a team that I have found to be very effective in these recent tournaments, even with Team Preview/No Preview, Item Switch or not etc.


And here is a battle video of a recent WiFi tournament finals:

 

[MosquitoVGC]

Thoughts on "VGC2009" (Gen. IV National Dex 4v4 Doubles)

Rule Variations
Due to multiple game mechanics differences (Pt. vs. HGSS; no preview vs. team preview; item switch vs. item lock), we haven't agreed on a standard ruleset when we say "VGC2009". While VGC2009 has an exactly defined ruleset (WCS 2009 rules), we've experimented with various rules variations and are trying to reach a consensus on what we as a community want for our National Dex format.

HGSS vs. Platinum
It's important to emphasize how different Platinum and HGSS formats are. HGSS's introduction of Flat Rules (removal of lv. 50 cap) and, to a lesser extent, introduction of the Low Kick tutor, fundamentally shift the metagame. Due to the inclusion of Tyranitar and Close Combat Hitmontop, I would argue that HGSS Flat Double Cup is more similar to VGC 2012 than Platinum Double Cup. Hitmontop counters the newly added Tyranitar, and both encourage the use of Sand Veil Swords Dance Garchomp. The Pokétopia community got sick of repeated battles decided by Sand Veil Garchomp and has recently focused on playing with Platinum restrictions in-place.

Other differences for reference:

• HGSS tutor moves: Headbutt, Bug Bite, Low Kick, Pain Split, Sky Attack, Super Fang, Block, Gravity, Heal Bell, Magic Coat, Role Play, String Shot, Tailwind, Worry Seed
• Viable HGSS egg moves: Water Spout Blastoise, Morning Sun Arcanine, Weather Ball Victreebel, Disable Gengar, Muddy Water Kingdra, Muddy Water Omastar, Extremespeed Dragonite, Brave Bird Honchkrow, Yawn Swampert, Follow Me Lucario

No Preview vs. Team Preview
It's also important to emphasize the difference team preview makes. The West has seen 4 team preview tournaments (Pokétopia Sinnoh Cups 1, 3, 4; Nationites August 2024) and 1 no preview tournament (PWFC March 2025). Bo3 Team Preview is fundamentally different from Bo1 No Preview because it encourages GoodStuffs teams and discourages more dedicated strategies that worked in the year 2009 (hard Trick Room, Rain, Sun, Hail, ImprisonBoom). Bo3 No Preview seems to lean closer to Bo3 Team Preview but still enables unorthodox strategies such as Dark Void Smeargle. I believe more Bo3 No Preview tournaments should be held to see the differences, but right now I feel discouraged from using unorthodox strategies such as bean's Perish Trap Team.

Item Switch
WCS 2009 rules permit the switching of items between games within a set. This is most practical to do during wireless battles and is a mild inconvenience for wifi battles and Showdown battles. While we have played many VGC 2010 sets with item switch, no contemporary VGC 2009 tournament has allowed item switch. It is an aspect that should be experimented with in the future.

The Importance of Pokémon Showdown Changes
As it stands, Showdown is currently programmed for Bo1 No Preview for 2009 and 2010. Bo3 No Preview matches for 2009 and 2010 battles are convoluted to play without team preview. So far it requires:

• Either DMing a tournament organizing or using https://lockpaste.com/ to write one's 6 Pokémon (and 6 items in item switch matches).
• Duplicating the "original" team and then deleting 2 'mons in teambuilder
• Rearranging the remaining 4 Pokémon in teambuilder
• Reassigning held items to the 4 Pokémon in teambuilder
• Challenging to a Bo1
• Repeating the process for Games 2 and 3, all while risking an opponent potentially altering EVs and even moves

This requires a lot of honestly and patience on the part of both players. Explaining this process is complicated, and it is even more complicated when it has to be translated by non-native English speakers.

In the near future, I would love to see an update to Pokémon Showdown to allow Bring 6, Choose 4 with Team Preview turned off. In terms of UI, this would be as simple as obscuring the opponent's 6 Pokémon sprites with a

, replacing the 6 icons with

, and removing the levels and genders. I hope coding this would be similarly easy.

In the long-term, I hope item switch is implemented. I understand it would be really complicated to code, however, and would serve a very tiny number of players.

 

[bagel]

VGC Classics Teamdump!

I had a great time playing and building 09 this tour, even if my personal performance (3-4) didn't quite reach the standards I set for myself. Shoutouts to Chargabugs managers for drafting me and the rest of the team for locking in when needed. Also shoutout zee for being a great test partner to test teams / bounce ideas off of. (click sprites for pokepastes)

Week 1 vs makiri:
I mostly approached the tier through the lens of DPP Doubles OU as most of the historical sample teams or replays didn't really align with my initial vibe check of the tier. I ended up landing on this 6 which aimed to enable two strong dragons that had been banned in DPP DOU in Garchomp and Latios. This was a good learning week as I totally disprespected Smeargle (the team I brought to the actual game was Wacan > Lum on Gyarados) and learned some of my preference in the tier (Garchomp isn't that good, I don't like choice items).

Week 2 vs Alaka
Discovered my love for Gengar as a really strong support guy that just so happens to pretty much solve the Smeargle matchup on its own. Also the first of many Sub-Steels that I use this tour. The rest of the team is very standard, Latios + Heatran is a great combo with Icy Wind support and Swampert + Zapdos is a great defensive core that trades well into a lot of things.

Week 3 vs BigMikeOG
I slightly went of the rails with this once as I really wanted to make sure I could beat Rhyperior trick room and thought it would be fun to go even more TR with Clamperl. This week was really the start of my battle against the DPP movepool I swear every week I ran into an issue lol. No muddy water meant I was stuck with Surf, which is fine I can use Toxicroak but oh no it can't learn Low Kick its stuck with Brick Break or Cross Chop. So a teammate suggested Parasect and it didn't feel too bad. Unfortunately I ran into the ultimate Clamperl counter in Abomasnow and didn't play well enough to overcome that.

Week 4 vs MosquitoVGC
Instead of trying to beat Zong+Rhyperior I joined them. I think its a very strong combo that can fit on pretty much any team as its own self sufficient TR mode, especially because Hitmontop doesn't learn Close Combat in this format and therefore sadly sucks. Sub Latios is probably the most interesting thing from this team, I like it a lot to take advantage of passive play from opponents and reduce the amount of speed ties. In general Substitute is very strong move to have I always try to put it on a team if I can.

Week 5 vs oopsgtg
I wanted to try and build with Scizor as I thought it could be one of the better mons to take advantage of all of the Cresselia oops was spamming. Fairly simple idea of Scizor + things that beat what beats Scizor: Chomp+Gyara for the Steels+Fires, Zap for Waters, Kang for Fake Out support and Latios for additional firepower. Unfortunately I ran into the worst Scizor matchup known to mankind facing a faster Cress with Reflect and HP Fire, 4x Steel Resist including Gyarados and Heatran. For some reason I still tried to force the Scizor angle game 3 and was owned by a suprise game 3 Gyarados reveal

Semifinals vs zee
Pretty sure I had just used Substitute Empoleon in a DPP DOU match and thought it was fire so wanted to try it here. In general it looked good into zee's teams and it ended up being the MVP this set. This team is similar to the week 4 team as it ends up being pretty flexible speed-wise. Empo can function in or out of Trick Room and Rhyperior is suprisingly scary if the right guys get Thunder Waved.

Finals vs oopsgtg
I didn't do this team justice as I was thoroughly outplayed here but I think this team is really fun. I was originally going a different direction (see below) but I think I Am a Rookie asked about screens so I mocced out a couple teams and eventually landed here. The main idea is to overwhelm with offense, relying on the extra bulk from screens to live an extra turn that you wouldn't normally. I think this fast approach to screens is the way to go as opposed to slower/bulkier approaches that may be more common in other tiers.

Bonus
Basic idea of this team is to overwhelm the bulkier cress teams that have become pretty common over the course of the tour. Guts Heracross is supposed to be the ultimate Cresselia nuke with Mismagius support. Mismagius itself felt very fun to use in tests and I think its a viable alternative to Gengar if you want something a little bulkier and without the Psychic weakness.

It was super fun to explore a different flavor of Gen 4 Doubles to what I have grown used to and I'm glad the format made it into the tour. Idk how much I'll return to the format but I'm sure I'll play more here or there.

 

[oopsgtg]

The VGC Classics League has recently concluded, it featured the VGC 2009 format and with Pokemon Showdown recently implementing the option for a best of three with no team preview, the VGC 2009 format has experienced a surge of interest and exploration.

I was fortunate to be drafted by the Nimbasa City Post-It-Notes managed by Radio Free C-Side and nerd of now to play this format. I’d like to thank my whole team and especially Jaden_Copeland for their support. Jaden had not played any VGC 2009 before this league began but nonetheless proved himself as an invaluable sparring partner for me to test my team ideas. Thanks also to the hosts of the league for including VGC 2009 and for running the whole league so smoothly.

Week 1 vs Mosquito

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2431139671-lce8qht0a9k4itejon7ecagjmgxmsabpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2431145498-bb3x1jjf9i2sirdw95aajgidsks5rtopw

Explanation

My first opponent was my friend Mosquito, we had played a few VGC 2009 games in advance of the Classics League to warm up and explore differences between the, to us, more familiar team preview meta and no preview.
I felt that Mosquito would likely bring some kind of weird ‘cheese’ team featuring something like Shedinja, Smeargle or Azelf, as a result I brought an incredibly safe team of Metagross/Cresselia lead which is in my view the most versatile and strongest lead option, with the idea of spreading paralysis to enable Snorlax or weaken the opponent’s pokemon into range for Life Orb Latios.
My intuition was proven correct in the match as Mosquito led Smeargle + Infernape, I managed to outbulk Mosquito’s team despite Dark Void proving troublesome and won 2-0.

Week 2 vs BigMikeOG

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2436494257-mdvohqitknob2kak1jnrcl537wwm0l8pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2436499351-sd8l5a6kopv8y8k3ieii1a3oa0g01pgpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2436502199-1fch8ja06hxcegnr6v0m8mw26jm1ug7pw

Explanation

In contrast to my first week opponent, I knew nothing about my opponent in the second week. I suspected zee would build their team due to zee’s experience in DPP DOU, but I had little knowledge of the DPP DOU metagame besides the bans of Garchomp/Latios/Thunder Wave.
With this in mind I decided to try a strong Japanese team which had been dominant in 2009, I thought this would be safe and give me options into most teams, however I had an unpleasant Rhyperior matchup due to a lack of ways to prevent Trick Room setup which BigMikeOG exploited and so I lost this round.

Week 3 vs Smudge

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4vgc2009-871564
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4vgc2009-871569

Explanation

Smudge is another player who I had some experience playing against in the Poketopia server, despite this I had no clear view on what he would be likely to use besides potentially an inclination to a balance playstyle, with this in mind I decided that it was best to go with a solid/safe game 1 plan once more with the Steel + Levitating Psychic lead with Snorlax in the back which I felt confident playing.
This week I managed to execute my plan quite effectively. I feel I was able to show the strength of this core but by now I felt that I was too predictable and had to use different strategies in future weeks.

Week 4 vs AsuX

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2445585957-n99nd0lhimc01yg9ucopr51a44y0hsvpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2445588063-eicjm8d60olvcv3k5ew03oscd98judepw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2445590989-iokqfteqcgx6grgoukwu62fvd15tdvwpw

Explanation

Facing AsuX I was inspired by the Rhyperior usage so far in the league, I had built a team with Cresselia/Hariyama lead and Rhyperior/Latios in the back previously, but I felt that Bronzong seemed safer into AsuX for setting up Trick Room reliably. I really value the status immunity provided by Flame Orb Hariyama, as it makes Smeargle a lot less threatening. The main issue with such a lead would be Taunt Gengar, against which I had planned to just T1 switch out Bronzong.
Choice Specs Suicune is an option I had experimented with, I really liked its combination of bulk and power with very few weaknesses (besides accuracy) and Togekiss gave an option to provide redirection support to circumvent Taunt.
The match ended up being a Trick Room mirror match, which Hariyama and Choice Specs Suicune excelled in. I saw that a very similar core won the recent offline VGC 2009+ tournament at RetroGameCon, Hariyama does seem to be a strong Trick Room lead as it blends the support needed to reliably set Trick Room with offensive pressure to capitalise on it.

Week 5 vs Bagel

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2449992950-r9s17giopyqcff6fs7vw5x40w2d9s6jpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2449995235-u4ueee18uybpx79lefkf297jt37gsv3pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2449997287-4mr150f0rcqo79w9m7fphjtapa4t487pw

Explanation

In the final regular season match I faced bagel, I knew they are a DPP DOU player and saw that they used a wide variety of team styles, given this I did not feel like I should build something for them specifically and so I adapted the MetaCress team, Swampert seemed like a nice option for Rhyperior, Garchomp, Heatran, Metagross and other potential threats which I anticipated bagel bringing. I also quite like Reflect Cresselia as a form of Explosion counterplay. I decided to go with Stone Edge on Gyarados once again primarily for opposing Gyarados as well as Shedinja.
In the match I was surprised by Scizor, however I fortunately had brought HP Fire Cresselia. Stone Edge Gyarados also proved its worth in this match, as it was essential to contend with bagel’s Gyarados.

Semifinals vs Repeat

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2456249635-q3begp6kxnr16b2ahwrf7cyyng3v7dvpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2456252265-p4lf9iqw0wpkvkg34m15lm74mbkkduupw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2456258612-7h3whjuygrqes78bjoyir3k0wsatn0jpw

Explanation

In the semifinals my team rematched the Trailblazers, but this time I was facing repeat instead of Mosquito. I knew however that repeat would be most likely using a team built by Mosquito and so prepared along similar lines to Week 1. I wanted to try a Zapdos lead for some variety and to be less predictable, I considered Metagross as a partner for it initially, but found Heatran to be more consistent against teams like Hard Trick Room which I was a bit concerned about, additionally changing the Metagross to a Choice Band Bronzong which felt like an overall improvement for the team and an unorthodox set to surprise my opponent.
Repeat brought a Wobbuffet which was very unexpected, I view it overall as a weak choice due to it having an extreme vulnerability to Explosion or Taunt, but I misplayed in game 2 against it as I incorrectly anticipated it to switch out due to the Explosion pressure of Bronzong. However this was correctly punished in game 3 which led to an easy win.

Finals vs Bagel

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2458958790-emiupmjq55hbpw1elfbb7wyxdip2d7mpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2458960542-5hlqw6mqwivggxt4ss8r33pku1jb65upw

Explanation

With the VGC 2013 spotlight ladder in October, I had been practicing with a Calm Mind Suicune team, reaching #1 on the ladder (excluding inactive players). This, along with my general thinking that Suicune is well positioned into the VGC 2009 meta, to use a Calm Mind Suicune in the finals. I somehow felt that bagel was likely to use a Trick Room strategy and so wanted to try Gengar lead, with Choice Band Metagross to provide physical offensive pressure. Life Orb Latios to supplement the offensive capabilities and a Protect Cresselia to provide adaptation options for games 2 or 3. Kangaskhan was the sixth, I had considered a Zapdos or Choice Scarf Smeargle as alternatives but Kangaskhan felt safe and provided Fake Out utility for Suicune/Latios/Cresselia. The team was built to take advantage of Icy Wind speed control and so Kangaskhan was preferred over Snorlax.
In the games, I was caught off guard by Raikou, whose speed tier was just slightly ahead of my team’s ideal, as Suicune was specified to outspeed Maximum speed Latios/Gengar/Infernape at -1 and Raikou naturally outspeeds my whole team. At the end of game 1 I was concerned that Solid Rock Rhyperior might be able to survive two Ice Beams (for example with Sitrus Berry), so to maximise my odds of victory I just went for Hydro Pump, I am still unsure which play was optimal but it worked out anyway.

Overall I am pleased with my run even if my team fell just short in the finals. I have enjoyed the lack of team preview in spite of the challenges it brings. I hope that VGC 2010 can be properly implemented as I believe that it has the same potential that 09 has as a format, perhaps it could be used in a future VGC Classics League.

With the spotlight from Classics League, the VGC09 metagame has developed considerably, and so the Poketopia discord will soon be voting on an updated viability ranking for the format. In advance of this I want to share my lead metagame viability rankings, as I believe the unique nature of no team preview demands a fundamentally different view of leads. Of course some traits such as Fake Out, Explosion, Taunt, priority, speed control and redirection are critical, it is my view that every lead should have as many of these options as possible or at least threaten the potential of them.

I also would highlight resilience to Explosion based strategies as one of the things atop my mind when building a team. I have experienced the danger posed by leads such as Focus Sash Feint Infernape + Choice Scarf Explosion Metagross as well as similar ideas with Azelf, Gengar, even Imprison Protect in testing. Having consistent plans to deal with Explosion is essential and limits the plausible set of leads considerably. I led a steel type every week in the Classics League which is not needed, but in my view is the safest lead strategy available.

Lead Metagame Viability Ranking

 

[Karthik]

I hope that VGC 2010 can be properly implemented

I added support for bring 4 pick 2 restricteds in 2010 a few weeks ago. The only thing that isn't there is swapping items but that would have to wait until swapping teams in any capacity is supported for bo3s.

 

[MosquitoVGC]

VGC Classics Premier League III - VGC 2009 Report
I'm grateful for the the opportunity to have competed in the Classics PL. It's the retro VGC event with the highest average skill level, featuring many former regional champions and even some World champions. New to this year's tournament was the introduction of VGC 2009, the very first format I played. It was a relatively undeveloped format; unlike 2010 and 2013, which see regular activity in Japan and the West respectively, 2009 was largely forgotten. Even when explored by Pokétopia server, it was played with team preview. The recent implementation of no-preview, Bo3, 6-4 VGC 2009 allowed us to easily explore the format mostly as it was intended (we still need item swap). I was assigned as my team's lead for VGC 2009, and while our performance wasn't the best, we created some really nifty teams!


Week 1: Mosquito vs. oopsgtg

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2431139671-lce8qht0a9k4itejon7ecagjmgxmsabpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2431145498-bb3x1jjf9i2sirdw95aajgidsks5rtopw

I spent over 8 hours teambuilding and prepping for oopsgtg, by far the strongest Gen. IV VGC player outside Japan. I suffered while theorizing leads (remember, no team preview!) and seeing every single lead loses to something else, namely Infernape + Latios, Metagross + Infernape, or Smeargle + Infernape. After hating every lead in the format for being too weak, I took the risk and settled on Smeargle + Infernape. My only concern was Metagross + Cresselia, and I ultimately decided I could win if I clicked Fake Out and hoped oops would Protect or switch Metagross. In Game 1 I correctly called it right, but failed to punish him properly due to Occa Berry, my auto-pilot of a 2nd Overheat instead of Close Combat, and my failure to Feint against the obvious Protect. In Game 2, I simply lost due to team selection matchup.


Week 2: Human vs. kaori
(paste pending)

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2436355620
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2436358501
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2436360408

After a week of no teambuilding, Enosh messaged his prototype paste 2 hours before his scheduled match. He threw multiple threats (ScarfMeta, Perish Song, Dark Void, Dragon Dance, Shadow Tag) onto a single team, and I was convinced it had too many moving parts. Then we tested a few sets, and he won resoundingly. He did some last minute changes, then battled kaori to a nice 2-1 victory using most of the tools, especially Salamence.

Week 3: repeat vs. AIRedZone

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2441782323-nho4bfcq3vfbe1cqvg0n0r7q8cgoxeipw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2441783660-smudmfgsuoywribkjg00xkbr9j65thbpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2441786238-o3v148i1aqmtpq8arx7g5bwdqfooi8upw

When repeat was selected to play, he requested a proactive team that allows punishes to suit his playstyle. With inspiration from Imperfectluck's 2009 US Nationals runner-up team, I designed a team around Metagross, Azelf, and Gengar. Cresselia similar to oopsgtg's Week 1 Cresselia was selected as an anchor that can 1v1 most Pokémon. With Gengar on the team, we also opted for a fun Game 2 Registeel, which is oppressive if the opponent lacks Taunt or Fire-types. "SummerChomp" (Choice Scarf Garchomp) was used to cover Metagross-Heatran teams as well as bully frail sweepers. While the G1 matchup was difficult, SummerChomp proved pivotal to winning the set.

Week 4: Mosquito vs. Bagel

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2443901828
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2443903905
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2443907601

I hadn't faced Bagel before and assumed I could defeat them by playing reliably and relying on an experience difference. I opted for a reliable Metagross/Zapdos lead, with Cresselia to enable a Trick Room sweeper. Snorlax is the better G1 option due to its few polarizing matchups, while Rhyperior is a stronger sweeper once an opposing team is confirmed to lack counters. I had a lot of confidence from many wins during testing. G1 went well after some back and forth. G2 I dealt with the Gyarados/Rhyperior combo courtesy of my tech move Discharge. Unfortunately I had difficulty taking on Bronzong + Rhyperior and make a poor prediction (is it a misplay) resulting in a double-up into my Focus Sash Latios. I still believe I can take on Heatran, but the Overheat tech proved too much. In G3, I overpredicted, which cost me a lot of momentum as Gengar got multiple opportunties to throw out Shadow Balls. I still had a chance in the mid/endgame if I could get Gengar/Heatran against Zapdos (Discharge rocks), but I unfortunately lose the speed tie.

Week 5: Mosquito vs. zee

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2451044139
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2451048705

My reflection on the format brought me to an effective VGC 2009 core both in 2009 and in 2024: Fire+Ice. These two types cover quite a bit of the format. The 2008-2009 version was Typhlosion+Weavile, the 2024 version was Heatran + Abomasnow. I opted for a middle ground with Weavile + Heatran. Weavile has a positive matchup against a lot of the 2009 format, but suffers from poor neutral damage and lacks Low Kick from HGSS. Fake Out + Taunt + Substitute Heatran seemed powerful, with Cresselia and Metagross to round out the team. For a while I used Gyarados and Zapdos as fillers with good neutral matchups, especially Steel. In testing, both repeat and Tornadoofdoom showed this team had a bad matchup vs. Bronzong + Rhyperior + Gyarados. I solved this by replacing the generally strong Zapdos for the more specific tech Empoleon. zee had shown a proclivity for Bronzong + Rhyperior, so this felt like a justified tech.

I got stomped by Timid Cresselia. I wanted to cover for Earthquake + Thunder Wave, but I did not expect Timid Cresselia. The Thunder Wave before my Substitute, followed by a T2 full paralysis basically lost me Game 1. G2 went a lot better as we had back and forth covering options. The CurseLax scared me, but I did survive quite a few hits. I unfortunately misplayed at the end - with Snorlax paralyzed, I was more safe in double targetting it. Even if it successfully Protected and Cresselia Thunder Wave my Metagross, I would still outrun the Snorlax the following turn, then could defeat Cresselia with Rest Cresselia.

Semis: repeat vs. oopsgtg

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2456249635-q3begp6kxnr16b2ahwrf7cyyng3v7dvpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2456252265-p4lf9iqw0wpkvkg34m15lm74mbkkduupw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen4vgc2009-2456258612-7h3whjuygrqes78bjoyir3k0wsatn0jpw

Repeat and Tornadoofdoom offered a starting core of Bronzong/Rhyperior/Suicune. I modified it and considered how to defeat oopsgtg. Oops has a high tendency to only use top-tier Pokémon. He's notorious for his consistency and dearth of misplays. Our team acknowledged that repeat could not beat oops in a neutral fight. We had to win via team matchup and hard reads. Bronzong was swapped to Cresselia to reduce issues against Heatran. A good portion of viable Pokémon (e.g. Abomasnow, Heatran) were rejected because oops had a history of bringing too many resists. We figured that Lightningrod + Specs Suicune had solid matchups, and Rhyperior in general did well against his Metagross/Latios/Cresselia/Snorlax core. Gengar with Perish Song was another tech to deal with his bulky teambuilding. It was from Perish Song that I reconsidered Enosh's team: Wobbuffet prevents the defensive switching oops often uses. Gen. IV Encore is fundamentally broken: 4-8 turns locked into a move and the target is random. Paired with Shadow Tag, it creates a crazy lockdown. We were glad to have it on the team; it doesn't matter if oops is the best player in the world if he's not allowed to play the game.

While repeat piloted G1 really well, he lost due to a Hydro Pump miss. In G2, he showed the power of Wobbuffet, but the Trick Bronzong turned the game into a weird tradeoff of random targetting. Ultimately it worked out with no mistakes from repeat's end. G3 oops led with Bronzong + Gyarados, and in retrospect Explosion + Protect was an optimal decision with almost no downsides. Unfortunately repeat did not foresee it and had a material disadvantage, losing him the game immediately.

Closing Thoughts
VGC 2009 is a welcome addition to VGC Classics PL. The lack of team-preview and ban on Tyranitar & Close Combat Hitmontop creates a unique format for teambuilding. It hasn't been properly explored without team preview in over a decade and a half. Each week interesting teams were used that showed a lot of promise and creativity for this format. In this one single team tournament, I believe the VGC 2009 metagame developed as much as it did during the year 2009. The experience of many DPP DOU players added to the team building frenzy.

I hope VGC 2009 will remain active in both future iterations of Classics PL and in future tournaments. It is unfortunately a weird format to implement for on-cart wifi, and even weirder to implement in-person, due to the esoteric level 50 cap and ban on HGSS-exclusive moves. However, I feel this format is much more interesting that the actual end-of-generation National Dex format, Flat Double Cup.

 

[Radio Free C-Side]

Intro
So, I ended up joining a tournament for once in my life on the Poke Classic Network Discord because it was for VGC 2009 on cart, which sounded fun and chill. Unfortunately Gen IV wifi is horrific, but the tournament was fun and I made top cut after going undefeated in Swiss. Figured I might as well drop the team here on the forums with some thoughts on how it was built and the tournament itself.

The Team


A bit before the PCN tour was announced, I was preparing to manage for the VGC Classics League, which included VGC 2009 as one of the formats. My plan for this was always to draft oopsgtg , a personal friend and absurdly good oldgens player. I wanted to make sure he had some level of support since there weren’t a ton of people familiar with 2009 in the league, so I decided to learn the format a bit so he could at least have someone to beat up in practice and feel good. Luckily, we also ended up drafting my friend Jaden_Copeland who was able to provide Oopsgtg with actual good practice and I only ended up playing once or twice. Despite that, one of the teams I made while learning the format felt pretty good, and I decided to just reuse it for PCN rather than try to make something new. The basic concept was just Hard TR with a few tricks that gave it a decent MU into a lot of standard stuff. I didn’t really concern myself too much with synergizing my items for the item switch meta. The items they all have are good and potentially can be switched, but realistically they all usually just run what they have listed.

The Core 4 I consistently brought to G1 were Cresselia and Metagross as leads, with Snorlax and Rhyperior in the back. Latios and Zapdos did occasionally come to some games, but they were more to fix specific match ups than anything. The standard turn 1 play was to simply click trick with Metagross on something that looked potentially annoying in Trick Room, and then click Trick Room myself with Cresselia.

Malignant (Cresselia) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 92 Def / 136 SpA / 108 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Rest

Cresselia is probably the best mon in the format, though it often is replaced on Hard TR with Bronzong due to the stronger defensive typing. However, I wanted to have both Fire and Ice coverage, so that prevented me from running Bronzong. The HP Fire is specifically to have a way to hit Bronzong in a Hard TR Mirror, while Ice Beam is just great coverage that makes Cress actually threatening to a lot. Trick Room is there for hopefully obvious reasons, and Rest is simply an amazing move that allows Cresselia to 1v1 tons of endgames and remove status.

The only thing I specifically remember EVing this for is to live Metagross Explosion no matter what, which came in handy a couple times during the tournament. Let’s just assume the rest of it has some amazing calcs and weren’t slapped on without me thinking about it. Cresselia is also the only mon I ever actually switched items for – I put Lum on it during my R4 match because I got really fed up with status and didn’t want to have to Rest it off.

The nickname comes from the fact that Rest is evil.

Bodrum (Metagross) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Earthquake
- Thunder Punch
- Trick

Metagross is another one of the best mons in the format, and its versatility made it a natural fit for the team. Unfortunately, I am deeply obsessed with the move Trick and built the entire set around using that. I would lead it G1, trick an opponent and then still usually be slow enough to operate in Trick Room. This is why I had moves that aren’t as common on Scarf sets, like Earthquake. However, you may notice Thunder Punch and wonder about that specifically. In practice, G1 I was really concerned about Gyarados because I didn’t have a lot to deal with it Taunting my Cresselia. So, of course, my idea was to just add Thunder Punch and call it a day. There is a clear issue with this. Most Gyarados run Wacan Berry, and don’t actually die to Thunder Punch. If you run this team, save yourself my pain and just replace Thunder Punch with Explosion. Explosion is so much more consistently useful. You know what stops Gyarados from clicking Taunt? It exploding into a billion pieces.

The nickname comes from a town in Turkiye with some notable maritime archaeology sites. It just felt fitting for Metagross for some reason.

Sediment (Rhyperior) @ Life Orb
Ability: Solid Rock
Level: 50
EVs: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 140 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Stone Edge
- Protect

Rhyperior is the premier Trick Room sweeper of VGC 2009, so it unsurprisingly appears here. Nothing about the set should be too surprising, so let me take this time to espouse a truth that only Oopsgtg and I truly care about: Solid Rock is the right ability, always. Don’t use Lightning Rod. Anyway, the SpD investment allows you to live two Ice Beams from Cresselia comfortably, and Giga Drain from Ludicolo at 100%.

The nickname is because of, yknow, rocks.

Epidemic (Snorlax) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 156 Atk / 116 Def / 212 SpD / 4 Spe
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Return
- Earthquake
- Curse
- Protect

Prior to playing VGC 2009, I played quite a bit of Orre Colosseum, which is Gen 3 VGC. In that format, Curse Snorlax had recently become a really notable threat. This prompted me to try it in 2009, and oh what a beautiful decision that was. Curse Snorlax is such a truly broken mon. Getting even a single Curse up makes it nigh-unkillable, and it spent the entire tournament simply rolling through unprepared teams. The EVs are definitely unoptimized, but it allows you to live a Metagross Explosion at +1 Defense, while generally being a bulky menace.

Prior to the tournament, there was a moment in Classics league where everyone started getting really into Gengar, which made me concerned about this set being walled. Then I had an epiphany: who actually cares about Gengar? This was the correct take, since it wasn’t a problem at all during the tournament, and having Earthquake as my coverage move was way more beneficial than Crunch or Fire Punch would’ve been.

The nickname is because my brain associates Curse with Plague, and I wanted Snorlax to sound vaguely menacing.

Patrician (Latios) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 4 Def / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 3 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
- Draco Meteor
- Psychic
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Protect

This is pretty much the standard Latios set, though I used Focus Sash more than the usual Life Orb. I basically only brought it when I wanted to nuke a Dragon, Fighting, or Heatran type pokemon. Heatran is a type, shut up. Focus Sash let me not worry about losing speed ties, which was usually more important than the raw damage of Life Orb since most things are investing to live those hits anyway if they can. Occasionally, it acted as an endgame sweeper when I got out of Trick Room and needed a fast mon to clean up the game.

The nickname comes from Latios having a sort of male noble vibe going on. He would’ve stabbed Caesar.

Panikos (Zapdos) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 188 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Protect

Zapdos is a mon I truly love, and use in whatever format I reasonably can. Despite that, it was definitely the least used member of the team. It was my dedicated Smeargle and Gyarados answer, but I ended up fighting zero Smeargles and one Gyarados. It was intended to eat Dark Voids and murder Gyarados before they could Taunt, but alas it did not work out. However, it also is just such a consistent mon that if I felt like Trick Room wasn’t really working, I could just use it for an alternative faster mode.

The EVs are a mess. I didn’t really consider much other than I wanted to be faster than Smeargle and Gyarados, while still hitting really hard. Switching to Life Orb lets it OHKO Gyarados even on super bulky Wacan sets, so that’s cool at least.

The nickname comes from the Greek for panic, derived from the nature deity Pan. I’d like to think Thunder Wave causes everyone panic.

Closing Thoughts
Despite the Wifi connection being super annoying, the tournament was still worthwhile and I really enjoy VGC 2009 as a format. There’s a lot of interesting teams to make, and the community playing it are just the coolest people possible. If you have any interest at all in the format, I heavily recommend joining the Poketopia Discord and hanging out.

Thanks to all my opponents during the tournament, as well as the Poketopia regulars that keep these formats alive and well.