I almost freaked out, I thought I almost deleted one of my power items. Luckily it was on a ditto in the daycare.
Part one of EnergyBall/Hypnosis Vulpix complete. Grabbed a stantler and bred it quickly with my Eevee to get one with decent ivs (27/30/31/25/4/31) just need to put the skills on then either use my Japanese Vulpix from Pearl or use a normal Vulpix for nature. I really cant decide.
If anyone would like a Vulpix with those egg moves just let me know.
Custom SpecialI know I am, I'm sure I am,I'm Sounders 'til I die!Registered Userregular
edited June 2010
Friggin dragon gym. I easily got to Clair, but my pokes just can't handle it. For one, mine are underleveled. I'm using red Gyarados, Feraligatr, Meganium, Sneasel and Typhlosion. I'm guessing I may need to level up some other pokes to get into competition for this battle. Any suggestions?
Have a request for a low-level (1-10) fire type of some kind. I'm not picky, just building a team up for starting out in Platinum. Maybe a Vulpix or Cyndaquil (if you're feeling exceptionally generous)? Don't really have anything to offer back at present, seeing as how I just started up. So this is a charity job for the stupid new guy at present I'm asking.
Also, if anyone can kick me an Eevee you'd be a frakking saint.
Have a request for a low-level (1-10) fire type of some kind. I'm not picky, just building a team up for starting out in Platinum. Maybe a Vulpix or Cyndaquil (if you're feeling exceptionally generous)? Don't really have anything to offer back at present, seeing as how I just started up. So this is a charity job for the stupid new guy at present I'm asking.
Also, if anyone can kick me an Eevee you'd be a frakking saint.
Double battles are easiest to sketch moves for Smeargle.
And the safari zone is basically just dumb luck; throw a rock, hope it doesn't flee, throw a ball, or just throw a ball. Best hope you don't find a shiny in there...
: ( : ( only shiny i ever saw fled immediately in the safari.
So I'm typing up a VGC primer for two friends that are likely to be tagging along with me to Indianapolis this year. Can any of you guys give this a read and let me know if I missed anything important or if anything is off-base?
I'm going to be adding a list and analysis of commonly-used Pokemon in the regionals as well, including one for every permitted Uber. This will be just as much for my own teambuilding reference as it is for theirs.
DOUBLE BATTLE TIPS
Teach Protect/Detect to anything that can sacrifice a moveslot for it, and particularly anything with mediocre defenses (except Choice item users). Since you have 8 moves at your disposal at any given time in doubles instead of 4, this is usually feasible to do without losing too much attack type coverage. Protecting is typically the most common defensive action in doubles. Switching is not as common and entry hazard attacks (Stealth Rock, Spikes, Rapid Spin) are not as useful.
Use leads that can either attack out of the gate or take very little time to set-up (one turn maximum IMO). Do not use complicated set-ups that can be easily deduced and foiled by your opponent. Try to prevent as many bad matchups for your leads as possible, as you do not have the luxury of switching frequently without often paying a heavy price for it.
When playing doubles, be able to identify which of your targets are likely to be attacking, setting up, Protecting, or serving as decoys on any given turn, and act accordingly. This applies doubly to leads, which are often the ones used to set up any global effects. If you see a relatively weak Pokemon being used by your opponent that is not likely to be doing any direct damage, try to figure out what it's there for and how threatening its abilities are to your team. Prioritize your actions according to how threatening such Pokemon are and how easily you can KO or disable them.
Be aware of doubles-specific attributes for various moves. Earthquake, Surf, Discharge, Explosion, and other moves hit all Pokemon on the field, including the user's partner. When using such moves, make sure that the rest of your team can take that hit, either with heavy resistances, Protect, or special abilities (Levitate, Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, etc). Blizzard, Water Spout, Rock Slide, Heat Wave, and others hit both opponents but not the partner.
Furthermore, an attack that hits multiple opponents only hits with 75% of its full strength. The exception is when there is only one target left standing. This applies even when one target is KO'd in the middle of a turn. Say you use Water Spout against a Groudon and Zapdos combo, and Zapdos is the faster of the two. Water Spout will hit Zapdos with 75% strength, but if Zapdos is KO'd, then Water Spout will hit Groudon with the full 100% of its power.
Be aware of moves that are only used in doubles. Follow Me causes all targetted attacks to hit the user, and the user of this move often serves as a decoy so that its partner can set up freely. It can be foiled by using moves that target multiple opponents. Follow Me can only be learned by Smeargle, Clefable, Togekiss, Lucario, Electivire, Furret, Mr. Mime, Pikachu, and their evolution lines.
Helping Hand increases the strength of the partner's attack by 50% and has higher speed priority than Protect. It is learned by several more Pokemon than Follow Me, but some notable ones include: Arcanine, Azelf, Blissey, Breloom, Cherrim, Clefable, Cresselia, Electivire, Gallade, Hitmontop, Infernape, Jumpluff, Latias, Latios, Machamp, Magmortar.
Moves requring a charge turn (Fly, SolarBeam, Dig, Dive, Shadow Force, etc.) are heavily discouraged in single battles because they telegraph your move to the opponent and give him a free opportunity to switch to something with an advantageous matchup. This doesn't quite apply to doubles, as switching is less frequent in general and it's impossible to tell which Pokemon the user is targetting until the move actually hits. Giratina's signature move, Shadow Force, is particularly notable because it cannot be blocked by Protect or Detect.
There are other moves seldomly used in singles that have utility in doubles. Dream Eater can be viable if the target is put to sleep earlier in the same turn. Swagger can be used on an Own Tempo partner to double its attack stat without being confused. Skill Swap and Worry Seed can be used on a partner to dispose of a disadvantageous ability (such as Regigigas's Slow Start) or to gain an advantageous one (such as a Sheer Cold Articuno with No Guard). Notable Skill Swap users include: Mewtwo, Lugia, Azelf, Blissey, Bronzong, and Cresselia. Still other useful support moves include Taunt, Encore, Psych Up (usable by several powerful legendaries), Gastro Acid, and Tailwind.
WEATHER EFFECTS
Weather is more popular in doubles than singles in general, and since Kyogre and Groudon are permitted for use in VGC 2010, whoever controls the weather is often in control of the match. Make sure that your team is capable of functioning well in multiple types of weather.
Rain: Water attacks do 1.5x damage. Fire attacks and SolarBeam do 0.5x damage. Thunder has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Rain Dish and Dry Skin heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Hail: All non-Ice Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Blizzard has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Ice Body heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Sun: Fire attacks do 1.5x damage. Water attacks do 0.5x damage. SolarBeam requires no charge turn. Thunder is 50% accurate. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 67% HP. Pokemon cannot be frozen. Pokemon with Chlorophyll have double speed. Pokemon with Flower Gift and their partners receive stat boosts. Pokemon with Dry Skin / Solar Power lose 1/8th HP every turn.
Sandstorm: All non-Rock/Ground/Steel Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Rock Pokemon earn a 50% special defense boost. SolarBeam does 0.5x damage. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP.
SPEED, TRICK ROOM, AND PRIORITY MOVES
Offense-driven metagames (of which VGC 2010 most certainly is) are heavily decided by speed. Whoever moves first on any given turn usually has a significant advantage. Try to glean as much information from the field as possible to determine the speed order of all Pokemon involved. When any multi-target effect/attack is used, the status messages will appear in order from fastest target to slowest target. If Earthquake hits all 3 other Pokemon, the fastest Pokemon will take damage first. If Intimidate activates, it will affect the fastest target first. When a hail storm is in play, it will affect the fastest target first.
Trick Room reverses the speed of all Pokemon for 5 turns (including the turn it is used, meaning that it is only really utilized for 4 turns). Pokemon can take advantage of Trick Room by running -Speed natures, allocating no Speed EVs, and using hold items such as Iron Ball to cut speed in half. This allows them to allocate EVs in other stats without worrying about speed.
Priority levels are not affected by Trick Room. A fast Pokemon using Ice Shard (+1 priority) will still attack before a slow Pokemon using Blizzard (0 priority). A slow Pokemon using Ice Shard would move before a fast Pokemon using Ice Shard, however. For this reason, it's a good idea to have several priority moves distributed throughout your team. Fake Out, Mach Punch, Sucker Punch, Ice Shard, Shadow Sneak, and ExtremeSpeed are good examples.
If two auto-weather Pokemon (Kyogre, Abomasnow, Groudon, Tyranitar, Hippowdon) are sent into play on the same turn, the Pokemon that moves last is the one whose weather takes control of the field.
ITEMS
Most items that are useful in standard singles play are also useful in VGC. Life Orb is just as useful on heavy hitters as ever. Choice items are useful but can carry greater risks if you need to switch and reset it. Focus Sash is arguably more useful since Stealth Rock is unlikely to be in play often.
Leftovers is often not as useful except on the few paricularly defensive/stall Pokemon that are viable in VGC (like Blissey). In many cases, Sitrus Berry and similar items are more useful because they provide a larger and instantaneous HP boost. There are so many phenomenally powerful Pokemon permitted in this year's VGC that several Pokemon would be unable to survive long enough to recover a significant amount of HP with Leftovers.
Resistance berries can be useful for anything that happens to have high defenses but is also Ice/Dragon-weak. Status berries are useful but should be picked carefully. If a Pokemon is much more threatened by sleep than other status moves, it is often best to go with Chesto Berry instead of Lum Berry. White Herb is useful for Draco Meteor users. Iron Ball can be used for Trick Room teams or on auto-weather Pokemon to gain the weather advantage; it can also be utilized as an attack via Fling, removing the speed disadvantage in the process.
So I'm typing up a VGC primer for two friends that are likely to be tagging along with me to Indianapolis this year. Can any of you guys give this a read and let me know if I missed anything important or if anything is off-base?
I'm going to be adding a list and analysis of commonly-used Pokemon in the regionals as well, including one for every permitted Uber. This will be just as much for my own teambuilding reference as it is for theirs.
Spoilered for huge:
DOUBLE BATTLE TIPS
Teach Protect/Detect to anything that can sacrifice a moveslot for it, and particularly anything with mediocre defenses (except Choice item users). Since you have 8 moves at your disposal at any given time in doubles instead of 4, this is usually feasible to do without losing too much attack type coverage. Protecting is typically the most common defensive action in doubles. Switching is not as common and entry hazard attacks (Stealth Rock, Spikes, Rapid Spin) are not as useful.
Use leads that can either attack out of the gate or take very little time to set-up (one turn maximum IMO). Do not use complicated set-ups that can be easily deduced and foiled by your opponent. Try to prevent as many bad matchups for your leads as possible, as you do not have the luxury of switching frequently without often paying a heavy price for it.
When playing doubles, be able to identify which of your targets are likely to be attacking, setting up, Protecting, or serving as decoys on any given turn, and act accordingly. This applies doubly to leads, which are often the ones used to set up any global effects. If you see a relatively weak Pokemon being used by your opponent that is not likely to be doing any direct damage, try to figure out what it's there for and how threatening its abilities are to your team. Prioritize your actions according to how threatening such Pokemon are and how easily you can KO or disable them.
Be aware of doubles-specific attributes for various moves. Earthquake, Surf, Discharge, Explosion, and other moves hit all Pokemon on the field, including the user's partner. When using such moves, make sure that the rest of your team can take that hit, either with heavy resistances, Protect, or special abilities (Levitate, Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, etc). Blizzard, Water Spout, Rock Slide, Heat Wave, and others hit both opponents but not the partner.
Furthermore, an attack that hits multiple opponents only hits with 75% of its full strength. The exception is when there is only one target left standing. This applies even when one target is KO'd in the middle of a turn. Say you use Water Spout against a Groudon and Zapdos combo, and Zapdos is the faster of the two. Water Spout will hit Zapdos with 75% strength, but if Zapdos is KO'd, then Water Spout will hit Groudon with the full 100% of its power.
Be aware of moves that are only used in doubles. Follow Me causes all targetted attacks to hit the user, and the user of this move often serves as a decoy so that its partner can set up freely. It can be foiled by using moves that target multiple opponents. Follow Me can only be learned by Smeargle, Clefable, Togekiss, Lucario, Electivire, Furret, Mr. Mime, Pikachu, and their evolution lines.
Helping Hand increases the strength of the partner's attack by 50% and has higher speed priority than Protect. It is learned by several more Pokemon than Follow Me, but some notable ones include: Arcanine, Azelf, Blissey, Breloom, Cherrim, Clefable, Cresselia, Electivire, Gallade, Hitmontop, Infernape, Jumpluff, Latias, Latios, Machamp, Magmortar.
Moves requring a charge turn (Fly, SolarBeam, Dig, Dive, Shadow Force, etc.) are heavily discouraged in single battles because they telegraph your move to the opponent and give him a free opportunity to switch to something with an advantageous matchup. This doesn't quite apply to doubles, as switching is less frequent in general and it's impossible to tell which Pokemon the user is targetting until the move actually hits. Giratina's signature move, Shadow Force, is particularly notable because it cannot be blocked by Protect or Detect.
There are other moves seldomly used in singles that have utility in doubles. Dream Eater can be viable if the target is put to sleep earlier in the same turn. Swagger can be used on an Own Tempo partner to double its attack stat without being confused. Skill Swap and Worry Seed can be used on a partner to dispose of a disadvantageous ability (such as Regigigas's Slow Start) or to gain an advantageous one (such as a Sheer Cold Articuno with No Guard). Notable Skill Swap users include: Mewtwo, Lugia, Azelf, Blissey, Bronzong, and Cresselia. Still other useful support moves include Taunt, Encore, Psych Up (usable by several powerful legendaries), Gastro Acid, and Tailwind.
WEATHER EFFECTS
Weather is more popular in doubles than singles in general, and since Kyogre and Groudon are permitted for use in VGC 2010, whoever controls the weather is often in control of the match. Make sure that your team is capable of functioning well in multiple types of weather.
Rain: Water attacks do 1.5x damage. Fire attacks and SolarBeam do 0.5x damage. Thunder has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Rain Dish and Dry Skin heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Hail: All non-Ice Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Blizzard has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Ice Body heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Sun: Fire attacks do 1.5x damage. Water attacks do 0.5x damage. SolarBeam requires no charge turn. Thunder is 50% accurate. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 67% HP. Pokemon cannot be frozen. Pokemon with Chlorophyll have double speed. Pokemon with Flower Gift and their partners receive stat boosts. Pokemon with Dry Skin / Solar Power lose 1/8th HP every turn.
Sandstorm: All non-Rock/Ground/Steel Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Rock Pokemon earn a 50% special defense boost. SolarBeam does 0.5x damage. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP.
SPEED, TRICK ROOM, AND PRIORITY MOVES
Offense-driven metagames (of which VGC 2010 most certainly is) are heavily decided by speed. Whoever moves first on any given turn usually has a significant advantage. Try to glean as much information from the field as possible to determine the speed order of all Pokemon involved. When any multi-target effect/attack is used, the status messages will appear in order from fastest target to slowest target. If Earthquake hits all 3 other Pokemon, the fastest Pokemon will take damage first. If Intimidate activates, it will affect the fastest target first. When a hail storm is in play, it will affect the fastest target first.
Trick Room reverses the speed of all Pokemon for 5 turns (including the turn it is used, meaning that it is only really utilized for 4 turns). Pokemon can take advantage of Trick Room by running -Speed natures, allocating no Speed EVs, and using hold items such as Iron Ball to cut speed in half. This allows them to allocate EVs in other stats without worrying about speed.
Priority levels are not affected by Trick Room. A fast Pokemon using Ice Shard (+1 priority) will still attack before a slow Pokemon using Blizzard (0 priority). A slow Pokemon using Ice Shard would move before a fast Pokemon using Ice Shard, however. For this reason, it's a good idea to have several priority moves distributed throughout your team. Fake Out, Mach Punch, Sucker Punch, Ice Shard, Shadow Sneak, and ExtremeSpeed are good examples.
If two auto-weather Pokemon (Kyogre, Abomasnow, Groudon, Tyranitar, Hippowdon) are sent into play on the same turn, the Pokemon that moves last is the one whose weather takes control of the field.
ITEMS
Most items that are useful in standard singles play are also useful in VGC. Life Orb is just as useful on heavy hitters as ever. Choice items are useful but can carry greater risks if you need to switch and reset it. Focus Sash is arguably more useful since Stealth Rock is unlikely to be in play often.
Leftovers is often not as useful except on the few paricularly defensive/stall Pokemon that are viable in VGC (like Blissey). In many cases, Sitrus Berry and similar items are more useful because they provide a larger and instantaneous HP boost. There are so many phenomenally powerful Pokemon permitted in this year's VGC that several Pokemon would be unable to survive long enough to recover a significant amount of HP with Leftovers.
Resistance berries can be useful for anything that happens to have high defenses but is also Ice/Dragon-weak. Status berries are useful but should be picked carefully. If a Pokemon is much more threatened by sleep than other status moves, it is often best to go with Chesto Berry instead of Lum Berry. White Herb is useful for Draco Meteor users. Iron Ball can be used for Trick Room teams or on auto-weather Pokemon to gain the weather advantage; it can also be utilized as an attack via Fling, removing the speed disadvantage in the process.
Slightly adjusting the EVs for my Swords Dance Ninjask would allow me to achieve a Substitute magic number while allowing me enough EVs to outrun Choice Scarf Heatran and any slower Choice Scarf mon (i.e. Scarf Metagross) before Speed Boosts. I say this because the Ninjask in question does not have an HP IV of 31.
Is that worth doing, or should I just put my spare EVs into Defense?
EDIT: On second thought, it seems the only Pokemon worth worrying about Speed-wise are Deoxys-A, Electrode, Aerodactyl, and maybe any Dragon Dance or Agility mons.
Guess I should just take the Speed EV setup listed on Smogon, adjust HPs to reach the Substitute magic number, and dump the spare EVs into Defense to help against priority attacks.
DOUBLE EDIT: I guess those issues are irrelevant, seeing as how the best way to foil Taunt is by running a Ninjask with Protect instead of Swords Dance. I still don't see why the set lists 80 Speed EVs, though. Maybe that's where the spares go after a Substitute magic number and max Atk?
notsoy on
Soul Silver FC: 1978 3200 2285
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
645, you forgot to mention Muddy Water in the list of moves that don't hit the partner. I'm not an expert in doubles, but I think you should have covered most of the stuff that's seen in doubles.
Abomasnow has a quadruple weakness to fire and zapdos learns heat wave, so I doubt it would get destroyed.
Several Abomasnow run Focus Sash and some run Choice Scarf, and the team you listed has no weather Pokemon to get rid of the hail, so it doesn't matter if Abomasnow is insta-KO'd. You can't run a Blizzard-weak team and expect to get anywhere in this year's VGC. As a general rule, you must be able to deal with rain/hail. Here's some team data for the regional finals.
645, you forgot to mention Muddy Water in the list of moves that don't hit the partner. I'm not an expert in doubles, but I think you should have covered most of the stuff that's seen in doubles.
Yeah, I'll probably get around to that when I'm writing up something on Kyogre. Thanks though.
those are the rules where you get to use 2 ubers so a team without any wouldn't fare well anyway. I'd probably run something crazy like follow me togekiss+trick room dialga for that. You know you want to.
Hey SixFortyFive, now that you're back, what do you want in exchange for one of those cloned dittos? I'd be willing to do a breeding project, and will even keep breeding them to get a good nature, and can get a 31 IV or two (but probably not RNG'd levels of good IVs)
Spoit on
0
RentI'm always rightFuckin' deal with itRegistered Userregular
edited June 2010
Woo-hoo! I'm finally ready to start my 'Eeveelutions + Empoleon' run of Platinum! I'm so fucking excited right now
Hey SixFortyFive, now that you're back, what do you want in exchange for one of those cloned dittos? I'd be willing to do a breeding project, and will even keep breeding them to get a good nature, and can get a 31 IV or two (but probably not RNG'd levels of good IVs)
If you're still around, I'm back.
I don't really need anything.
Sixfortyfive on
poasting something foolishly foolish.
0
RentI'm always rightFuckin' deal with itRegistered Userregular
edited June 2010
I must say it's bizarre to have a skin-of-your-teeth victory between a level 2 Umbreon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon and a level 3 bidoof
Edit: 645, could I possibly grab one of those all 31s Dittos as well? It'd be awesome for breeding
Posts
Part one of EnergyBall/Hypnosis Vulpix complete. Grabbed a stantler and bred it quickly with my Eevee to get one with decent ivs (27/30/31/25/4/31) just need to put the skills on then either use my Japanese Vulpix from Pearl or use a normal Vulpix for nature. I really cant decide.
If anyone would like a Vulpix with those egg moves just let me know.
I'm here too...where are you
Sittin' in the lobby.
Also, if anyone can kick me an Eevee you'd be a frakking saint.
I'll throw a Chimchar and Eevee your way. Sig has friend code.
EDIT: Rent has all the pokeymans.
Looking for a cyndaquil and Eevee? That I can do
Do you need more than one eevee
If you want to I'm fine letting you cover it, it's no problem
I'll be there in 3 minutes.
EDIT: It says that friend code is wrong. Check your Pal Pad.
EDIT: 1311. Doh. I type gud.
EDIT 2: There we go. Awesome, thanks!
I'm going to be adding a list and analysis of commonly-used Pokemon in the regionals as well, including one for every permitted Uber. This will be just as much for my own teambuilding reference as it is for theirs.
DOUBLE BATTLE TIPS
Teach Protect/Detect to anything that can sacrifice a moveslot for it, and particularly anything with mediocre defenses (except Choice item users). Since you have 8 moves at your disposal at any given time in doubles instead of 4, this is usually feasible to do without losing too much attack type coverage. Protecting is typically the most common defensive action in doubles. Switching is not as common and entry hazard attacks (Stealth Rock, Spikes, Rapid Spin) are not as useful.
Use leads that can either attack out of the gate or take very little time to set-up (one turn maximum IMO). Do not use complicated set-ups that can be easily deduced and foiled by your opponent. Try to prevent as many bad matchups for your leads as possible, as you do not have the luxury of switching frequently without often paying a heavy price for it.
When playing doubles, be able to identify which of your targets are likely to be attacking, setting up, Protecting, or serving as decoys on any given turn, and act accordingly. This applies doubly to leads, which are often the ones used to set up any global effects. If you see a relatively weak Pokemon being used by your opponent that is not likely to be doing any direct damage, try to figure out what it's there for and how threatening its abilities are to your team. Prioritize your actions according to how threatening such Pokemon are and how easily you can KO or disable them.
Be aware of doubles-specific attributes for various moves. Earthquake, Surf, Discharge, Explosion, and other moves hit all Pokemon on the field, including the user's partner. When using such moves, make sure that the rest of your team can take that hit, either with heavy resistances, Protect, or special abilities (Levitate, Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, etc). Blizzard, Water Spout, Rock Slide, Heat Wave, and others hit both opponents but not the partner.
Furthermore, an attack that hits multiple opponents only hits with 75% of its full strength. The exception is when there is only one target left standing. This applies even when one target is KO'd in the middle of a turn. Say you use Water Spout against a Groudon and Zapdos combo, and Zapdos is the faster of the two. Water Spout will hit Zapdos with 75% strength, but if Zapdos is KO'd, then Water Spout will hit Groudon with the full 100% of its power.
Be aware of moves that are only used in doubles. Follow Me causes all targetted attacks to hit the user, and the user of this move often serves as a decoy so that its partner can set up freely. It can be foiled by using moves that target multiple opponents. Follow Me can only be learned by Smeargle, Clefable, Togekiss, Lucario, Electivire, Furret, Mr. Mime, Pikachu, and their evolution lines.
Helping Hand increases the strength of the partner's attack by 50% and has higher speed priority than Protect. It is learned by several more Pokemon than Follow Me, but some notable ones include: Arcanine, Azelf, Blissey, Breloom, Cherrim, Clefable, Cresselia, Electivire, Gallade, Hitmontop, Infernape, Jumpluff, Latias, Latios, Machamp, Magmortar.
Moves requring a charge turn (Fly, SolarBeam, Dig, Dive, Shadow Force, etc.) are heavily discouraged in single battles because they telegraph your move to the opponent and give him a free opportunity to switch to something with an advantageous matchup. This doesn't quite apply to doubles, as switching is less frequent in general and it's impossible to tell which Pokemon the user is targetting until the move actually hits. Giratina's signature move, Shadow Force, is particularly notable because it cannot be blocked by Protect or Detect.
There are other moves seldomly used in singles that have utility in doubles. Dream Eater can be viable if the target is put to sleep earlier in the same turn. Swagger can be used on an Own Tempo partner to double its attack stat without being confused. Skill Swap and Worry Seed can be used on a partner to dispose of a disadvantageous ability (such as Regigigas's Slow Start) or to gain an advantageous one (such as a Sheer Cold Articuno with No Guard). Notable Skill Swap users include: Mewtwo, Lugia, Azelf, Blissey, Bronzong, and Cresselia. Still other useful support moves include Taunt, Encore, Psych Up (usable by several powerful legendaries), Gastro Acid, and Tailwind.
WEATHER EFFECTS
Weather is more popular in doubles than singles in general, and since Kyogre and Groudon are permitted for use in VGC 2010, whoever controls the weather is often in control of the match. Make sure that your team is capable of functioning well in multiple types of weather.
Rain: Water attacks do 1.5x damage. Fire attacks and SolarBeam do 0.5x damage. Thunder has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Rain Dish and Dry Skin heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Hail: All non-Ice Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Blizzard has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Ice Body heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Sun: Fire attacks do 1.5x damage. Water attacks do 0.5x damage. SolarBeam requires no charge turn. Thunder is 50% accurate. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 67% HP. Pokemon cannot be frozen. Pokemon with Chlorophyll have double speed. Pokemon with Flower Gift and their partners receive stat boosts. Pokemon with Dry Skin / Solar Power lose 1/8th HP every turn.
Sandstorm: All non-Rock/Ground/Steel Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Rock Pokemon earn a 50% special defense boost. SolarBeam does 0.5x damage. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP.
SPEED, TRICK ROOM, AND PRIORITY MOVES
Offense-driven metagames (of which VGC 2010 most certainly is) are heavily decided by speed. Whoever moves first on any given turn usually has a significant advantage. Try to glean as much information from the field as possible to determine the speed order of all Pokemon involved. When any multi-target effect/attack is used, the status messages will appear in order from fastest target to slowest target. If Earthquake hits all 3 other Pokemon, the fastest Pokemon will take damage first. If Intimidate activates, it will affect the fastest target first. When a hail storm is in play, it will affect the fastest target first.
Trick Room reverses the speed of all Pokemon for 5 turns (including the turn it is used, meaning that it is only really utilized for 4 turns). Pokemon can take advantage of Trick Room by running -Speed natures, allocating no Speed EVs, and using hold items such as Iron Ball to cut speed in half. This allows them to allocate EVs in other stats without worrying about speed.
Priority levels are not affected by Trick Room. A fast Pokemon using Ice Shard (+1 priority) will still attack before a slow Pokemon using Blizzard (0 priority). A slow Pokemon using Ice Shard would move before a fast Pokemon using Ice Shard, however. For this reason, it's a good idea to have several priority moves distributed throughout your team. Fake Out, Mach Punch, Sucker Punch, Ice Shard, Shadow Sneak, and ExtremeSpeed are good examples.
If two auto-weather Pokemon (Kyogre, Abomasnow, Groudon, Tyranitar, Hippowdon) are sent into play on the same turn, the Pokemon that moves last is the one whose weather takes control of the field.
ITEMS
Most items that are useful in standard singles play are also useful in VGC. Life Orb is just as useful on heavy hitters as ever. Choice items are useful but can carry greater risks if you need to switch and reset it. Focus Sash is arguably more useful since Stealth Rock is unlikely to be in play often.
Leftovers is often not as useful except on the few paricularly defensive/stall Pokemon that are viable in VGC (like Blissey). In many cases, Sitrus Berry and similar items are more useful because they provide a larger and instantaneous HP boost. There are so many phenomenally powerful Pokemon permitted in this year's VGC that several Pokemon would be unable to survive long enough to recover a significant amount of HP with Leftovers.
Resistance berries can be useful for anything that happens to have high defenses but is also Ice/Dragon-weak. Status berries are useful but should be picked carefully. If a Pokemon is much more threatened by sleep than other status moves, it is often best to go with Chesto Berry instead of Lum Berry. White Herb is useful for Draco Meteor users. Iron Ball can be used for Trick Room teams or on auto-weather Pokemon to gain the weather advantage; it can also be utilized as an attack via Fling, removing the speed disadvantage in the process.
EDIT: Quoting myself for new page:
Spoilered for huge:
Teach Protect/Detect to anything that can sacrifice a moveslot for it, and particularly anything with mediocre defenses (except Choice item users). Since you have 8 moves at your disposal at any given time in doubles instead of 4, this is usually feasible to do without losing too much attack type coverage. Protecting is typically the most common defensive action in doubles. Switching is not as common and entry hazard attacks (Stealth Rock, Spikes, Rapid Spin) are not as useful.
Use leads that can either attack out of the gate or take very little time to set-up (one turn maximum IMO). Do not use complicated set-ups that can be easily deduced and foiled by your opponent. Try to prevent as many bad matchups for your leads as possible, as you do not have the luxury of switching frequently without often paying a heavy price for it.
When playing doubles, be able to identify which of your targets are likely to be attacking, setting up, Protecting, or serving as decoys on any given turn, and act accordingly. This applies doubly to leads, which are often the ones used to set up any global effects. If you see a relatively weak Pokemon being used by your opponent that is not likely to be doing any direct damage, try to figure out what it's there for and how threatening its abilities are to your team. Prioritize your actions according to how threatening such Pokemon are and how easily you can KO or disable them.
Be aware of doubles-specific attributes for various moves. Earthquake, Surf, Discharge, Explosion, and other moves hit all Pokemon on the field, including the user's partner. When using such moves, make sure that the rest of your team can take that hit, either with heavy resistances, Protect, or special abilities (Levitate, Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, etc). Blizzard, Water Spout, Rock Slide, Heat Wave, and others hit both opponents but not the partner.
Furthermore, an attack that hits multiple opponents only hits with 75% of its full strength. The exception is when there is only one target left standing. This applies even when one target is KO'd in the middle of a turn. Say you use Water Spout against a Groudon and Zapdos combo, and Zapdos is the faster of the two. Water Spout will hit Zapdos with 75% strength, but if Zapdos is KO'd, then Water Spout will hit Groudon with the full 100% of its power.
Be aware of moves that are only used in doubles. Follow Me causes all targetted attacks to hit the user, and the user of this move often serves as a decoy so that its partner can set up freely. It can be foiled by using moves that target multiple opponents. Follow Me can only be learned by Smeargle, Clefable, Togekiss, Lucario, Electivire, Furret, Mr. Mime, Pikachu, and their evolution lines.
Helping Hand increases the strength of the partner's attack by 50% and has higher speed priority than Protect. It is learned by several more Pokemon than Follow Me, but some notable ones include: Arcanine, Azelf, Blissey, Breloom, Cherrim, Clefable, Cresselia, Electivire, Gallade, Hitmontop, Infernape, Jumpluff, Latias, Latios, Machamp, Magmortar.
Moves requring a charge turn (Fly, SolarBeam, Dig, Dive, Shadow Force, etc.) are heavily discouraged in single battles because they telegraph your move to the opponent and give him a free opportunity to switch to something with an advantageous matchup. This doesn't quite apply to doubles, as switching is less frequent in general and it's impossible to tell which Pokemon the user is targetting until the move actually hits. Giratina's signature move, Shadow Force, is particularly notable because it cannot be blocked by Protect or Detect.
There are other moves seldomly used in singles that have utility in doubles. Dream Eater can be viable if the target is put to sleep earlier in the same turn. Swagger can be used on an Own Tempo partner to double its attack stat without being confused. Skill Swap and Worry Seed can be used on a partner to dispose of a disadvantageous ability (such as Regigigas's Slow Start) or to gain an advantageous one (such as a Sheer Cold Articuno with No Guard). Notable Skill Swap users include: Mewtwo, Lugia, Azelf, Blissey, Bronzong, and Cresselia. Still other useful support moves include Taunt, Encore, Psych Up (usable by several powerful legendaries), Gastro Acid, and Tailwind.
WEATHER EFFECTS
Weather is more popular in doubles than singles in general, and since Kyogre and Groudon are permitted for use in VGC 2010, whoever controls the weather is often in control of the match. Make sure that your team is capable of functioning well in multiple types of weather.
Rain: Water attacks do 1.5x damage. Fire attacks and SolarBeam do 0.5x damage. Thunder has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Rain Dish and Dry Skin heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Hail: All non-Ice Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Blizzard has 100% accuracy instead of 70%. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP instead of 50%. Pokemon w/ Ice Body heal themselves a little at the end of every turn.
Sun: Fire attacks do 1.5x damage. Water attacks do 0.5x damage. SolarBeam requires no charge turn. Thunder is 50% accurate. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 67% HP. Pokemon cannot be frozen. Pokemon with Chlorophyll have double speed. Pokemon with Flower Gift and their partners receive stat boosts. Pokemon with Dry Skin / Solar Power lose 1/8th HP every turn.
Sandstorm: All non-Rock/Ground/Steel Pokemon lose 1/16th of their HP each turn. Rock Pokemon earn a 50% special defense boost. SolarBeam does 0.5x damage. Weather-dependent healing moves heal 25% HP.
SPEED, TRICK ROOM, AND PRIORITY MOVES
Offense-driven metagames (of which VGC 2010 most certainly is) are heavily decided by speed. Whoever moves first on any given turn usually has a significant advantage. Try to glean as much information from the field as possible to determine the speed order of all Pokemon involved. When any multi-target effect/attack is used, the status messages will appear in order from fastest target to slowest target. If Earthquake hits all 3 other Pokemon, the fastest Pokemon will take damage first. If Intimidate activates, it will affect the fastest target first. When a hail storm is in play, it will affect the fastest target first.
Trick Room reverses the speed of all Pokemon for 5 turns (including the turn it is used, meaning that it is only really utilized for 4 turns). Pokemon can take advantage of Trick Room by running -Speed natures, allocating no Speed EVs, and using hold items such as Iron Ball to cut speed in half. This allows them to allocate EVs in other stats without worrying about speed.
Priority levels are not affected by Trick Room. A fast Pokemon using Ice Shard (+1 priority) will still attack before a slow Pokemon using Blizzard (0 priority). A slow Pokemon using Ice Shard would move before a fast Pokemon using Ice Shard, however. For this reason, it's a good idea to have several priority moves distributed throughout your team. Fake Out, Mach Punch, Sucker Punch, Ice Shard, Shadow Sneak, and ExtremeSpeed are good examples.
If two auto-weather Pokemon (Kyogre, Abomasnow, Groudon, Tyranitar, Hippowdon) are sent into play on the same turn, the Pokemon that moves last is the one whose weather takes control of the field.
ITEMS
Most items that are useful in standard singles play are also useful in VGC. Life Orb is just as useful on heavy hitters as ever. Choice items are useful but can carry greater risks if you need to switch and reset it. Focus Sash is arguably more useful since Stealth Rock is unlikely to be in play often.
Leftovers is often not as useful except on the few paricularly defensive/stall Pokemon that are viable in VGC (like Blissey). In many cases, Sitrus Berry and similar items are more useful because they provide a larger and instantaneous HP boost. There are so many phenomenally powerful Pokemon permitted in this year's VGC that several Pokemon would be unable to survive long enough to recover a significant amount of HP with Leftovers.
Resistance berries can be useful for anything that happens to have high defenses but is also Ice/Dragon-weak. Status berries are useful but should be picked carefully. If a Pokemon is much more threatened by sleep than other status moves, it is often best to go with Chesto Berry instead of Lum Berry. White Herb is useful for Draco Meteor users. Iron Ball can be used for Trick Room teams or on auto-weather Pokemon to gain the weather advantage; it can also be utilized as an attack via Fling, removing the speed disadvantage in the process.
Slightly adjusting the EVs for my Swords Dance Ninjask would allow me to achieve a Substitute magic number while allowing me enough EVs to outrun Choice Scarf Heatran and any slower Choice Scarf mon (i.e. Scarf Metagross) before Speed Boosts. I say this because the Ninjask in question does not have an HP IV of 31.
Is that worth doing, or should I just put my spare EVs into Defense?
EDIT: On second thought, it seems the only Pokemon worth worrying about Speed-wise are Deoxys-A, Electrode, Aerodactyl, and maybe any Dragon Dance or Agility mons.
Guess I should just take the Speed EV setup listed on Smogon, adjust HPs to reach the Substitute magic number, and dump the spare EVs into Defense to help against priority attacks.
DOUBLE EDIT: I guess those issues are irrelevant, seeing as how the best way to foil Taunt is by running a Ninjask with Protect instead of Swords Dance. I still don't see why the set lists 80 Speed EVs, though. Maybe that's where the spares go after a Substitute magic number and max Atk?
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
Is there anybody out there willing to give me a Qualot Berry? I can trade you any of the EV berries you are lacking in return.
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
Name the Berry you want me to give you.
I even have some of the Poffin-recipe Berries that I'm never going to use because I don't have a D/P/Pt game.
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
Don't need any, I have like 40 of all of them. Just give me some interesting breeding rejects or something
How's a Jolly Nincada sound?
IVs
HP: 23
Atk: 29
Def: 6
SpAtk: 2
SpDef: 23
Speed: 31
GT: HitoriLionheart or dailydro
Yeah, I'll probably get around to that when I'm writing up something on Kyogre. Thanks though.
Man, fuck having just 4 Pokemon per team... A poor matchup on the opening turn puts you so far behind.
I don't really need anything.
Edit: 645, could I possibly grab one of those all 31s Dittos as well? It'd be awesome for breeding