One of the "endgame" activities of many modern Pokemon titles is the competitive battling scene. Whether players are battling just to have fun, or are battling for fame and glory, the Pokemon competitive scene has grown substantially over the years.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have a very healthy and constantly-growing competitive scene, especially with the games selling so well. However, getting into the competitive scene can be a bit daunting for those who are new to that side of Pokemon. We're here to break down the basics of what players need to know to get started in competitive Pokemon battling.
Competitive Battling Formats in Sword and Shield
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have both online and offline "competitive" battling. There are two main battle formats for Pokemon battles: Singles and Doubles. Singles let players bring a team of Pokemon to go one-on-one against the opponent's Pokemon. Doubles (which is used as the standard for VGC) let a player bring six Pokemon; however, the player must choose four to actually bring to battle with. This adds a "mindgame" element to battling, as each side tries to anticipated what the next will do.
For those who just want to train and test team compositions without worrying about online opponents, there is the Battle Tower, unlocked after completing the main story. The Battle Tower is a great way for players to start getting the hang of the competitive battle formats, though the rules are far more lax in the Battle Tower than they are in online battling. There also is not the team preview for Doubles, which is a bit of a drawback. AI opponents also are not as good at testing mindgames on either, which is a big part of competitive battling. The Battle Tower features both Singles and Doubles, each with their own ranked progression, so it is good for testing the foundation of teams that players are working on.
Players wanting to test their mettle against other players can play online, either in Casual Battles or Ranked Battles. As the name implies, Casual Battles are just for fun, while Ranked Battles are where players go to really put their team and strategies to the test. Ranked is the core of the competitive battling community for when online tournaments are not active. Players work to climb the ranked ladder with the teams they build, comprised of the best Pokemon they can gather. Only Pokemon that were legally caught in Sword and Shield, or made legal at the Battle Tower attendant, can be used. Mythical Pokemon are not permitted, and only certain Gigantamax Pokemon are allowed to be used. This is meant to be a close mirror to the VGC 2020 ruleset.
What is VGC?
VGC stands for Video Game Championships, which are held by The Pokemon Company for the best trainers in the world. Players compete in tournaments both online and in-person to climb the VGC brackets in the hopes of making it to the World Championships and potentially win a decent chunk of cash. VGC is the standard competitive format for most tournaments, and the Ranked ruleset is meant to be very similar to VGC's standard ruleset. VGC battles are always Double Battles, feature the Team Preview mechanic that is present in Ranked to allow players to see what six Pokemon are brought (so players can mindgame their opponent with choosing their four to bring to fight), and there are turn and battle timers in place to keep players on their toes.
Differences in Singles and Doubles
Singles and Doubles have vastly different strategies that players use, and some that work in one may be detrimental to use in the other. "Stall" Pokemon that are designed to get the opponent to burn through moves is fairly common in Singles, but less so in Doubles. Moves like Helping Hand and Follow Me are exclusive to Doubles and are a waste in Singles. The core of the Singles format is bringing Pokemon that can be switched out to counter whatever the opponent brings, and it has a strong focus on predicting switch-outs and capitalizing on those moves.
Doubles are about creating great pairs of Pokemon to use that can cover each other, and predicting which one the opponent will target. Moves like Helping Hand, Follow Me, and Ally Switch are great for redirecting moves and countering an opponent. Overall, each format has a drastically different playstyle, but both revolve around learning to read an opponent's strategies and predict their next move.
Getting Started in Competitive Pokemon Battling
Players wanting to break into the competitive scene will want to do a lot of research on the rules and common strategies that are out there currently. With the launch of the Isle of Armor, more Pokemon were added to the VGC/Competitive format, so players are adapting their strategies and teams. Players should compose a team of six built around a "core" idea, like speed control via Tailwind/Max Airstream or Trick Room, or perhaps a rain team.
The idea of a core is to build around it, bringing Pokemon that complement that core. Players will want to make sure they have good type coverage to help counteract "walls" to their core, as well as Pokemon that can stand independent of the core just in case players are unable to set up the core properly. Getting started in competitive battling is all about trial and error, and watching content creators or past World Championships to get an idea for how top-tier players approach battling is a good start.
Competitive Pokemon battling is a growing pastime for many players who have already completed Sword and Shield and are looking for more of a challenge. Whether players are battling for fame and glory, or just to have fun, have a lot to learn before breaking into the Competitive scene. Competitive Pokemon has a lot of information to digest, but there are a lot of resources out there, especially from content creators, for those who are looking to start learning the tricks of the trade.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.