Articles

Published on April 26th, 2015 | by Unreality

14

Differences Between Single and Double Battles in Pokémon

Hey guys! This is the first in what I hope will be a long series of beginner content produced for Nugget Bridge. In this article, I’ll be talking about the differences between playing competitive Singles Pokémon and playing competitive Doubles Pokémon because I think that is a point of confusion for a lot of players who try to get involved in VGC. I’ll also explain how some VGC rules are different.

The vast majority of battles in the Pokémon universe are Single Battles, from the moment you get your starter Pokémon to when you finally defeat the Elite Four and become Champion. Only a handful of battles ingame are Double Battles. VGC can seem daunting, but trust me, it isn’t difficult once you get into it. Let’s get started!

Double Means Two

It’s easy to see that Double Battles feature two Pokémon on any side of the field instead of one, which means that four Pokémon are in play at most points in time. Since so many more Pokémon are on the field, that means that each player has double the options they do in a Singles battle. There are different strategies, too: for example, the “double target”, where one player attacks an enemy Pokémon with both of theirs in order to remove it from the field faster. Another riskier move is the “double switch”, where a player switches both of their Pokémon instead of one in order to gain a favorable position.

Protect

Protect is the most common move and the most important move in Double Battles. I could probably write a whole article about Protect (and I probably will), but here’s what you need to know: in order to outplay your opponent in Doubles, Protect is almost necessary, because you can shield one Pokémon while attacking with the other. Unless your Pokémon has four moves so utterly important that you can’t imagine bringing that Pokémon without them, you definitely want Protect.

There are also two important moves that aren’t useful at all in Single Battles, which are Wide Guard and Quick Guard. These moves, while situational, can save your Pokémon from devastating spread attacks and priority attacks respectively.

No Stuff Too Tough

In Singles, threats like Mega Salamence, Mega Kangaskhan, Greninja, Aegislash, Mega Gengar, and Mega Lucario can sweep entire teams. It’s very difficult for one specific Pokémon to dominate in a Double Battles tournament. Since you have two Pokémon out on the field at any given time, not only do you have two ways to attack their top threat, but it is also nearly impossible for a Pokémon to knock out two enemy Pokémon at once, meaning that you can almost always get an attack off even if one of your Pokémon faints. For example, Mega Kangaskhan dominated tournaments for months in VGC 2014, including winning US Nationals. At Worlds, many players successfully used a combination of Gothitelle and Mega Mawile to defeat Kangaskhan easily. Indeed, no Kangaskhan placed in the top 8 at Worlds that year.

… But Don’t Slack Teambuilding

However, this in turn means that you can’t be lazy when countering threats to your team. In a Single Battle, if you have a Pokémon that hard counters another, it is safe to leave it in versus that Pokémon. In a Double Battle, however, what if they use Protect with their threat, and knock out your counter to that threat with their other Pokémon? You’re probably going to lose the game.

In Singles, it’s also possible to switch in a Pokémon that “checks” the opposing Pokémon by being tough for that Pokémon to damage but not defeating it right away. A good example is Ferrothorn, which checks Mega Kangaskhan. In Doubles, if you switch Ferrothorn in too early, Kangaskhan can target Ferrothorn’s partner and still deal massive amounts of damage while being “checked”. Teams have to be balanced in order to adequately deal with every Pokémon.

Shorter Battles

Double Battles move very quickly. VGC battles average 8-10 turns, which could be a tenth or less of the length of a Single Battle. This has two effects: for one, moves like Toxic and items like Leftovers are much less effective. This is because those moves and items damage/heal per turn, and since there are fewer turns in a VGC match than in a Single Battle, they heal less and do less damage. Instead of Breloom holding a Toxic Orb to recover HP with Poison Heal, it instead carries Focus Sash or Life Orb. Second, moves that change the game for a short number of turns are more powerful and common, especially Tailwind and Trick Room.

Also, VGC battles enforce a 15 minute timer, with only 45 seconds per turn. Battles move quickly naturally. At the end of the game, if time is called, the player with more Pokémon on the field wins.

Be Careful Boosting

Don’t expect to have any one Pokémon out on the field for a very long time. Primarily defensive Pokémon (e.g. Blissey and Hippowdon) don’t work out because of the short timer and because they can be easily double targeted and knocked out. Those that do succeed end up in a supportive role. For example, rather than being a monster with Calm Mind or Cosmic Power and the ability Magic Guard like it is in Singles, Clefable supports with Follow Me and Helping Hand. In fact, defensive setup is almost nonexistent, outside of the rare Calm Mind.

The other half of this statement is that offensive setup isn’t amazing, too. Even if you get crazy stat ups on a Pokémon like Mega Blaziken, it can be targeted by both enemy Pokémon when it attacks, leading to its swift defeat. Baton Pass in particular is ineffective. To start a Baton Pass chain, you need to disable an enemy Pokémon so you can go to town boosting. It’s nearly impossible to disable both enemy Pokémon in Doubles. The only Pokémon capable of that is Smeargle with Dark Void, which is easily outsped, Taunted, or evaded. Baton Pass takes a while to get going, and ultimately, it only boosts up one Pokémon, which can then be defeated by double targeting or timer.

This isn’t saying that boosting isn’t good in Double Battles by any means. A boosted Pokémon is a more powerful Pokémon. In Doubles, players need to be much more careful with their boosted Pokémon because they are always threatened.

Follow Me to Victory

In fact, a whole different host of Pokémon are viable in Double Battles. Pokémon like Amoonguss, Togekiss, and Cresselia, while decent in Singles, blossom in Doubles because they can use Rage Powder, Follow Me, Tailwind, Trick Room, Helping Hand, Icy Wind, or any number of strong moves that are made for Doubles. Don’t count Pokémon out because they aren’t working for you in Single Battles!

Spread All Over

Doubles mechanics are bittersweet for spread moves, which have the ability to hit both enemy Pokémon (and sometimes your partner Pokémon!). Physical Pokémon with moves like Earthquake or Rock Slide and special Pokémon with moves like Heat Wave, Hyper Voice, or Muddy Water are able to inflict much more damage overall than they would in Singles. They don’t deal full damage, however: moves in Double battles deal only 75% of the damage they deal one-on-one. Here’s how spread move damage works in a Double Battle:

• “Hit All Pokémon” spread move when both players have 2 Pokémon: 75% power
• “Hit All Pokémon” spread move when one player has 2 Pokémon and the other has 1: 75% power
• “Hit All Pokémon” spread move when one player has 2 Pokémon, the other has 1, and any Pokémon uses Protect: 75% power
• “Hit All Pokémon” spread move when each player has 1 Pokémon: 100% power

• “Hit Both Opposing Pokémon” spread move when each player has 2 Pokémon: 75% power
• “Hit Both Opposing Pokémon” spread move when the player using the move has 1 Pokémon and the other player has 2: 75% power
• “Hit Both Opposing Pokémon” spread move when the player using the move has 1 Pokémon, the other player has 2, and any enemy Pokémon uses Protect: 75% power
• “Hit Both Opposing Pokémon” spread move when the player using the move has 2 Pokémon and the other player has 1: 100% power
• “Hit Both Opposing Pokémon” spread move when both players have 1 Pokémon: 100% power

Skilled double battlers use strong spread moves to their full effect in order to win.

Hazards Aren’t Great

Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Sticky Web are less effective in Double Battles than in Single Battles. Double Battles are shorter, which means fewer switchins. Also, switching isn’t as necessary to outplay your opponent. Using a hazard move is perceived as wasting a turn that could have been spent attacking or disabling enemy Pokémon. No hazard move has been used successfully at any high level of VGC.

VGC: Bring 6, Pick 4

In VGC format, you don’t bring all the Pokémon on your team to battle. Instead, you pick two to leave behind at Team Preview. This means battles go even faster. Because players don’t have to use all the Pokémon they bring, teams with two or even three Mega Pokémon are possible. Also, “Bring 6 Pick 4” adds another element of strategy to the game: if one Pokémon isn’t going to be very good against your opponent’s team, you don’t have to use it in battle.

Wrapping Up

I hope you feel ready to take on the world of Doubles Pokémon, because I think you’ll have a great time. See you next time!

About the Author

Unreality Hi! I'm Aaron "Unreality" Traylor and I love short walks on the beach and making lots and lots of friends. Following mild success in the Seniors division in 2011, I quickly lost all steam upon entering Masters and have done slightly well since. Now I am a moderator on Nugget Bridge! Hooray!

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