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How To Build A Competitive Pokemon Team

How To Play Excadrill

How To Build a Competitive Team (Pokemon Sword and Shield)

Excadrill is an ideal revenge killer under sand, as it is only outsped by a few boosted Pokemon and its STAB Earthquake is excellent against the plethora of Ground-weak Pokemon in the metagame. It also gets good coverage and, with the introduction of Dynamax, this generation allows Excadrill to shine, as its one of the premier choices to use the mechanic. When Dynamaxed, Excadrills two STAB moves in Earthquake and Iron Head have the effects of raising its Special Defense and Defense, respectively, as well as Max Rockfall having the ability to create its own Sandstorm. For its item, you can use Life Orb just to boost Excadrills damage output further, while Air Balloon gives Excadrill immunity to being revenge killed by an opposing Ditto or Excadrill, which tend to be the best offensive checks to it. Otherwise, Heavy-Duty Boots allows Excadrill to ignore the Speed drop from Sticky Webs and Spikes damage.

Wolfe Glicks Youtube Channel

2016 VGC World Champion Wolfe Glicke has a YouTube channel full of useful videos. Heâs currently running a series on movesets for new Sun and Moon Pokémon. He uses his expertise to consider all situations in battle. Listening to his advice is a good way to learn about how people in the metagame approach strategy while also helping you consider new competitive movesets.

Abilities To Look For In Water Pokemon

For a Water-type team, there are certain abilities that can get OP.

Water Absorb Pokemon with this ability are not only immune to all Water-type attacks, but they are also healed by them. This is great for double battles, as you can use Surf to damage opponents and heal your other Pokemon on the field at the same time.


Swift Swim With Rain Dance active, the speed of Pokemon with this ability is doubled. Pokemon that can have this ability include Ludicolo and Qwilfish.

Rain Dish Another Rain Dance-dependent ability. This one will heal the Pokemon by 1/6 of their HP for as long as Rain Dance is active.

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How To Play Galarian Darmanitan

Gorilla Tactics combined with a Choice Scarf gives Galarian Daramanitan both immediate power and speed. This set serves best as an early-game wallbreaker or late-game cleaner. Icicle Crash is Darmanitans main STAB move, and Flare Blitz covers the Steel-types that resist it. Earthquake rounds out Darmanitans coverage, notably allowing it to hit Toxapex. Superpower can also be used to hit Tyranitar harder and provides an opportunity for +1 Attack while Dynamaxed. U-turn provides momentum for Darmantians team while also dealing a considerable amount of damage to common switch-ins, like Rotom-W. Dynamax allows Galarian Darmanitan to bypass the locking effects of Gorilla Tactics and Choice Scarf, giving it the opportunity to muscle through walls like Ferrothorn and Toxapex even if it has locked itself into an inappropriate move. Doing so, however, takes away from other potential Dynamax options, so it should be used against bulkier teams. The given EV spread allows Darmanitan to hit as hard and fast as possible, and Jolly is needed in order to outspeed Zacian-C.

Corviknight The Allrounder Competitive Guide for Pokémon Sword & Shield


Getting Started With Competitive Battling

How to Build a Competitive Pokémon Team on a Pokémon ...

Art by tiki.

Hi there, welcome to Smogon 🙂

This guide is here to help you transition from playing Pokémon on a casual level to playing it competitively here on Smogon. In this article, we will teach you the differences between playing in-game and playing competitively. We will talk about the essentials of teambuilding and battling, and finally, we will also teach you a little about the forum and where to go after finishing this article.

When playing in-game, Trainers build teams to take on different challenges such as beating the Gym Leaders and Elite Four. However, in competitive battling, your opponents are other people. Each person will bring a different team and use different archetypes. You will need to learn how to adapt against the various playstyles and build teams to take on Pokémon’s multiple different cores. Smogon has multiple different tiers, ranging from their infamous usage tiers to other official tiers such as Ubers, LC, DOU, and Monotype, as well as OMs. Each of these different tiers can be played in multiple generations. Some tiers are playable in older generations, as they have been around for a long time; however, others can only be played in more current generations due to how they are set up.

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Resources For Pokmon Vgc

Competitive Pokémon has a huge amount of useful resources when it comes to learning the basics, stepping up your game knowledge and becoming the very best. However, determining what to read, where to learn and who can be trusted is a hard task.

With over 3 years of experience providing the community with the best resources available, Victory Road has created a handful hub with all needed for both newcomers, returning players and even those at the top.

Before You Begin Choosing Pokmon

  • 1Consider your goals. Are you trying to beat a friend, or someone random? Are you playing casually or competitively? Deciding on these things will help you out later down the line.
  • If you’re just bored, doing it for the sake of having a team, or making a team for fun, consider sticking to your favorite Pokémon or picking a theme.
  • 2Choose a battle format. The format determines how many Pokémon and trainers will be battling at a time, greatly affecting the flow of the battle.
  • Single – The classic 1v1 trainer battle where one Pokémon is used at a time . Battles are generally longer, prompting more defensive strategies and allowing for more setups and entry traps).
  • Double XResearch sourceXResearch source – A 1v1 trainer battle where two Pokémon are used at a time. Battles are generally much shorter than singles due to more Pokémon being on the field simultaneously, prompting more offensive strategies and stronger teamwork. Spread moves are also viable here.
  • Multi XResearch source – A 2v2 trainer battle. Due to party size being limited to 6 Pokémon at a time, trainers are only allowed to bring up to 3 Pokémon from their individual teams.
  • Triple XResearch sourceXResearch source – A 1v1 trainer battle where 3 Pokémon are used at a time. Most single target moves are only able to hit Pokémon that’re oposite/adjacent to the user . Pokémon on the field may also ‘shift’ positions with the Pokémon adjacent to them .
  • Monotype – All Pokémon on a team must share a common type .
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    How To Build A Competitive Pokemon Team: A Comprehensive Guide : 5 Steps

    In the first instalment of his Competitive Battling Tips series, Anti gives readers tips on how to improve their general approach to team building in the competitive game.

    ang xem: How to build a competitive pokemon team: a comprehensive guide : 5 steps


    Hello! This article is the first in a series I will be doing on improving competitive battling skills. The advice I offer is not for beginners but for players with a rudimentary grasp of the competitive game who want to improve from adequacy to a more advanced understanding of the game. I will exclusively talk about the;ORAS OverUsed tier, as it is the most popular competitive tier and the one I know best.

    Team building is an especially mystifying aspect of competitive Pokémon for many players. The variety that characterizes OU initially seems freeing but also requires that builders account for that variety defensively, and with only 6 Pokémon available to do so, the task of building a defensively sound team that simultaneously executes an aggressive strategy can seem overwhelming. While this article will not offer a comprehensive guide to team-building, it will discuss several themes that separate mediocre teams from outstanding teams.

    Make sure your team is responsive to the metagame.

    Every great team is anti-metagame to some extent.

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    Ignore filling roles like physical sweeper or special wall. Focus on synergy instead.

    How To Play Hawlucha

    How to Team Build Competitive Teams – Pokemon Sword and Shield

    Even though this moveset originated in the monotype tier, it works fantastically well in the current VS Battle meta. Hawlucha acts as the fastest Flying setup sweeper available thanks to Unburden and Max Airstream boosting its Speed beyond even that of Swift Swim and Sand Rush sweepers. With Thunder Punch, it can use Max Lightning to activate its Electric Seed and its ability, giving it a Defense boost and doubling its Speed. Typically, you should look to use Swords Dance before Dynamaxing so that Hawlucha is extremely powerful right off the bat; however, Max Knuckle allows it to easily boost its Attack during Dynamax as well. While Hawlucha is reliant on Dynamax to activate Unburden to sweep late-game, it is also capable of simply wallbreaking early-game with its powerful 120-Base Power STAB attacks backed by Swords Dance to allow its teammates to use Dynamaxs powerful boosts instead.

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    Each Pokemon Should Be Critical:

    When opting for Pokemon planner to create the perfect team, you need to plan out in a way that ensures proper use for each type. Every pokemon in your team should have a definite role. No pokemon should be left without use. Consider this formula:

    • Special Sweeper
    • Physical Sweeper
    • Special Wall
    • Physical Wall
    • Lead
    • Crippler

    How To Play Mimikyu

    Mimikyu holds a niche in the metagame due to its unique typing and ability Disguise, which gives it a free turn to attack or set up. Defensively, Mimikyu can act as a blanket check to many threats. Ghost- and Fairy-type STAB moves allow Mimikyu to hit the entire metagame for at least neutral damage. Decent Attack along with access to Swords Dance and great STAB coverage allows Mimikyu to clean easily. However, Mimikyu struggles to break common defensive Pokemon such Toxapex. Also, once Disguise is broken, Mimikyu is very easy to revenge kill, as it is very frail and isnt very fast.


    Swords Dance allows Mimikyu to boost its below-average Attack stat. Shadow Sneak makes up for Mimikyus low Speed and is used to revenge kill faster threats. Play Rough is Mimikyus strongest move, hitting Pokemon such as Dragapult, Grimmsnarl and Tyranitar for massive damage. Finally, Shadow Claw has nearly perfect neutral coverage with Play Rough and can hit any meta Pokémon for at least neutral damage.

    Life Orb is the preferred item, as it gives Mimikyu a consistent boost in power, allowing it to hit much harder. Maximum Speed and Attack investment allows Mimikyu to hit as hard and be as fast as possible. An Adamant nature allows Mimikyu to do much more damage to Pokemon, especially after a Swords Dance, and it is the preferred nature on Sticky Web teams. However, a Jolly nature allows Mimikyu to outpace some other Jolly threats, but the preferred nature is definitely Adamant.

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    Destiny Knot Is A Breeder’s Best Friend

    Ditto holding a Destiny Knot is the golden combination for serious breeders. A Ditto can breed with anything that can be bred, while a;Pokémon holding a Destiny Knot in the Daycare will guarantee that three of the six IVs will be passed down. The other three will always be randomly generated with the egg.

    So ideally, getting ahold of a perfect IV Ditto in a foreign language and have it hold a Destiny Knot will maximize the chances of the offspring having good stats while also giving the chance of a Masuda Method shiny.


    How To Play Corviknight

    Pokécademy

    Corviknight makes for an excellent wincon in the SWSH metagame, capable of overwhelming common defensive Pokemon such as Toxapex, Ferrothorn, and Galarian Corsola if its running Hex. On top of that, Corviknight is one of the best checks to Excadrill. Due to the tiers lack of solid Flying-resistant Pokemon, Corviknight can overwhelm many bulkier builds with just Brave Bird. Running Brave Bird also has the added benefit of Max Airstream while Dynamaxed, allowing Corviknight to rack up multiple Speed boosts and making it lethal against offensively oriented teams. Substitute enables Corviknight to avoid being burned by Toxapexs Scald and Galarian Corsolas Will-O-Wisp while also letting it PP stall and overwhelm many more passive Pokemon in tandem with Pressure and Bulk Up. Although Mirror Armor may seem like an appealing option in order to deny stat drops in general, Pressure is the preferred ability because it allows Corviknight to PP stall most notably Toxapex but many other Pokemon as well. The given EV spread allows Corviknight to survive two Swords Dance-boosted Max Steelspikes from Excadrill after using Bulk Up. 88 Speed EVs enable Corviknight to outrun Modest Dragapult at +2, which Corviknight can attain through Dynamaxing and using Max Airstream. The rest of the EVs alongside a Careful nature make Corviknight as specially bulky as possible, minimizing the damage taken from threats like Dragapult and Toxapex.

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    Grab Four Friends And Plan Your Next Unite Battle With These Tips On Which Pokmon To Include On Your Team And How To Use Them

    By George Goof Gebhardt, Contributing Writer

    Playing Pokémon UNITE as a full team with four other friends canbe a lot more fun and lead to even more victories. By coordinating the Pokémonand tactics you plan to use, you can really step up your game and play to eachperson’s skills. Path advantage, objective control, and scoring potential areimportant factors that influence which Pokémon you should pick for your PokémonUNITE team. Every choice will impact how your team plays throughout variousstages of the game, so you should plan accordingly.

    Read on for tips on how to play better with a team, then check out some example five-player teams you can construct for your next Unite Battle!


    How to Pick Pokémon for Each Path

    In Unite Battles, each team fights for control of the top andbottom paths as well as the central area. On the top and bottom paths, neutralwild Pokémon inhabit the areas between each team’s goal zones.

    Whichever Pokémon deals the last hit to a wild Pokémon is awarded Exp.Points and Aeos energy. It’s important to have Pokémon on your team secure theseExp. Points to start building an advantage over your opponentsespeciallyearly in battle.

    While Snorlax and Lucario have seen a lot of competitive play sofar in the Pokémon UNITE scene, alternatives like Wigglytuff and Slowbro cancertainly work in their place. What is imperative is having a Pokémon that candeliver the final blow, whichever works for you.

    Effort Values & The Pokmon Virus

    Effort Values are hidden values that judge how a;Pokémon’s stats will increase and can be directly manipulated by the player. Depending on the;Pokémon battled there will be a different yield of these values given within the experience, so incredibly intense players will grind on specific;Pokémon only in order to maximize the values received for only the ones they want.;It’s important to remember that unlike IVs, not every single EV can be maximized. Also, items such as Carbos and HP Ups will directly affect these values as well, so they finally have a use.


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    Pokérus is a random virus that can spread quickly between party members and is way scarier sounding than it is. For a short while, the virus exponentially increases the rate in which stats are increased in a;Pokémon and therefore is highly prized while training up a competitive team. Once a;Pokémon catches it, they can never catch it again so be sure to box the infected until it’s time to use it to its full effect.

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    How To Play Toxapex

    This sets purpose is to switch into strong attackers like Galarian Darmanitan, Dragapult, Barraskewda, and Aegislash and force them out by walling them, giving Toxapex opportunities to spread status with Scald and Toxic, set Toxic Spikes, and recover health with Recover. Additionally, Toxapex is able to prevent setup sweepers like non-Earthquake Gyarados and Corviknight from snowballing out of control thanks to Haze. Toxapexs EVs and nature enable it to switch into threats its meant to check as best as possible, such as Galarian Darmanitan and Gyarados, and make it harder for Dugtrio to trap it. A specially defensive spread is also viable, letting Toxapex switch into Dragapult more reliably. While Toxic is generally preferred to cripple Pokemon like Mandibuzz, Dragapult, and Rotom-W, Toxapexs great bulk gives it ample opportunities to set Toxic Spikes, which is nice for wearing down entire teams as opposed to a single Pokemon. Baneful Bunker is also an option to make Toxapex a better Dragapult check and let it scout Pokemon like Galarian Darmanitan.

    Toxapex has good defensive synergy with Pokemon like Clefable and Ferrothorn that appreciate its ability to switch into Poison- and Fire-type attacks with ease. Pokemon like Aegislash and Tyranitar benefit from Toxapex crippling checks such as Mandibuzz and Seismitoad with status. Toxapex is vulnerable to Ground-types like Excadrill and Mamoswine; pair it with Pokemon like Corviknight that can take attacks from such Pokemon.

    Make Sure All Types Are Accounted For

    How to Teambuild for Competitive Pokemon! (World Champ…)

    The secret to a well-rounded team is making sure that all twelve of the types are accounted for. Memorizing a type matchup chart is first and foremost one of the most important things to consider as it can help ensure that no matter what;Pokémon is sent out by the opponent, that there will always be something super effective to use against it.

    It should be a skill that the base game itself teaches and will give a good, easy trial run to test out combinations against.

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