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The heart of competitive Pokemon is team building. Players participating in the Pokemon Video Game Championships (VGC) must keep up with the ever-changing Pokedex with each new Generation. Teambuilding is very strategy based, and the possibilities are endless regarding movesets, Pokemon roles, type matchups, and abilities.
The most crucial part of team building is maintaining Team Synergy. Team Synergy is the idea behind teams being chosen with intent rather than just choosing the most powerful Pokemon. It is imperative in Double Battles that Pokemon assist each other defensively and offensively. There are a few ways to ensure competitive teams have Synergy and still stack offensive or defensive Pokemon. Players can find the perfect balance for their teams to compete on point.
Core Pokemon
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Team Synergy can start with a solid Core. The Core of a team is the foundation for whatever strategy players want to use, and they usually consist of 2-3 Pokemon. For example, Rain teams are Pokemon that use the Weather Condition to their advantage. A Rain team Core will consist of Water-types and Flying types as they benefit the most. Cores can also be offensive or defensive if players want to run Sweeper sets or Wall sets. After choosing a Core, players should pad the rest of the team with Pokemon that make up for the Core weaknesses. Team Synergy really comes into play from that point forward. Cores can also consist of conflicting types since they often compensate for each other's weaknesses or boost their strengths. Some standard Cores include the following:
- Fire/Water/Grass
- Steel/Fairy/Dragon
- Fighting/Dark/Psychic
- Water/Flying
After choosing a Core, players can decide on supportive roles like Setups and Healers to flesh out their teams.
Type Synergy
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Type Synergy focuses on type matchups. One way to use Type Synergy is by type weaknesses. So, say a Pokemon is weak to Steel, then including a Pokemon immune to Steel will create Synergy. This keeps Pokemon from being singled out or caught up in Attack sets.
A working example of this is Roserade and Incineroar. Roserade is a dual Grass/Poison-type Pokemon, so its weaknesses include Psychic, Flying, Fire, and Ice. Incineroar, on the other hand, is immune to Psychic, resistant to Fire and Ice, and neutral to others. Likewise, Roserade resists Fighting and Water. They can protect each other and divvy up their offensive power.
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Another way to have Type Synergy is by choosing two Pokemon who are able to take the offensive advantage over each other's weaknesses. This system is called check and counter synergy and does not have to be mutual. One Pokemon can be a defensive buffer for another who fills a different role. For example, Glass Cannons benefit from this Synergy because they often lack in Defense. This way, their ally can Wall for them. This can work Vice Versa depending on a player's battle style or opponents. Sometimes defensive Pokemon need support as well when they lose the type advantage. Fast and hard-hitting offensive Pokemon can cut down opponents that threaten their allies.