With each generation of Pokemon games, new additions to the series can shake up the meta game and change how you tackle your opponents' teams. Whether it's because of the new Pokemon within a region or an interesting twist on an existing concept, it's important that you always stay up-to-date if you're planning on battling it out online.
At the same time, there are plenty of tried-and-true formulas to make a successful VGC team in particular, and often they don't exclusively rely on mechanics only seen for a generation or two, like Mega Evolution. Granted, it's also no secret that those mechanics can send a handful of Pokemon's usage rates off the charts.
7 Hyper Offense Has A Need For Speed
In a hyper-offensive setup, your team's goal is to get the upper-hand on a concept known as "speed control," using moves to lower the opposing Pokemon's Speed stats. For example, you'll see Electroweb or Icy Wind get a lot of use, thanks to their ability to target both opponents. Alternatively, you can raise your own team's Speed which is usually done with a move like Tailwind or an item like Choice Scarf.
Basically, you'll need to land heavy-hitting attacks before your enemies get a chance, so having ways to disable your opponents from using Tailwind themselves, such as Taunt or Imprison, are just as welcome. After all, they can't knock out your Pokemon if you wipe theirs out first.
6 Bulky Offense Can Take Hits And Dish Them Out
Pokemon isn't all about Attack stats either. If the Pokemon you choose to be the star of your show can learn a move such as Swords Dance or Calm Mind, you'll want to increase your team's defensive capabilities to support it. Bulky-offensive teams get fantastic mileage out of an Ability known as Intimidate, which lowers the opposing Pokemon's Attack stat by one. However, be careful about when you use it if the opponents have any Abilities that render Intimidate useless.
Different types of speed control are also common on teams like this, and you should think about which ones you can add to your team to better adapt to your enemy's options and keep your team from falling behind.
5 "Hard" Trick Room Teams Make The Best Of The Slowest
Make no mistake, Trick Room archetypes can be just as threatening as hyper-offense. As a move, Trick Room reverses the order of when Pokemon will act during a turn, meaning the ones with less Speed will act first. "Hard" Trick Room refers to a team where you want to be as slow as possible, to take advantage of the reversed order nearly every time.
Fake Out is an excellent move to have on a partner next to a Pokemon you're going to set up your strategy with, as it can prevent one opponent from trying to stop you. Once Trick Room is active, you're on a timer to wail on your enemies as much as you can, so having Pokemon with low Speed and high Attack or Special Attack is vital to your success.
4 Sunny Or Rainy Weather Changes A Battle's Outlook
There are four types of weather available for you to play around with in a battle, and Harsh Sunlight/Rain are the more common ones you'll see. The former strengthens Fire-type moves and weakens Water-type moves, and the reverse is true for the latter. Pokemon with the Drought or Drizzle Abilities summon the sun or rain when they enter battle, making it easy to set up.
Aside from that potential, there are other Abilities that interact with weather conditions: just to name a few, Pokemon with Chlorophyll or Swift Swim have their Speed doubled in Harsh Sunlight or Rain, respectively, while Solar Power boosts your Pokemon's Special Attack by 1.5x, at the cost of 1/8th of its HP every turn it's still Sunny. With weather at your command, you can easily combine this archetype with others, for the sake of speed control or aiding in offense or defense.
3 Sand And Hail Are More Niche, But Chip Away At Enemies
With how often Harsh Sunlight and Rain are present, it can be difficult to find a place for Sandstorm and Hail. However, if you do, you have some unique benefits. Most Pokemon are dealt 1/16th of their HP as damage from these weather conditions, but Rock, Ground, and Steel-type Pokemon don't take damage from Sandstorm, Rock-types also get a 1.5x increase to their Special Defense, and Ice-type Pokemon are safe from Hail.
Similarly to Harsh Sunlight and Rain, the Abilities Sand Rush and Slush Rush double the Pokemon's Speed in Sand and Hail. These archetypes require more dedication and team slots to pull off well, but if you manage it, you become one of nature's forces to be reckoned with.
2 Perish Song And Shadow Tag Bring Certain Doom
Some team archetypes in VGC require less Pokemon to take full advantage of a strategy, but they need just as much foresight as the others. With this strategy, your goal is to prevent two opposing Pokemon from switching with Abilities like Shadow Tag or Arena Trap, and using Perish Song, a move that causes all Pokemon on the field to faint in three turns if they don't - or, more importantly, can't - switch out.
This strategy also works if you're confident in your lead in a battle. If you've taken out two of your opponent's Pokemon without losing yours, you can use Perish Song and bolster your Defense stats to seal the deal.
1 Stalling: Hey, As Long As It Works
You may have encountered this annoying idea before: an opposing Shuckle uses Guard Split on a Chansey, making the latter a near-impenetrable wall while you helplessly get whittled down by Seismic Toss. Despite its reputation, stalling out your opponents can be just as varied and fulfilling as other strategies - that is, if you're willing to go to the Time Limit of most battles.
Your job with this archetype is to keep stacking defensive qualities onto one Pokemon and take out all opposing threats to it, all the while lowering enemies' HP with status conditions, weather, Abilities like Rough Skin or Iron Barbs, and pretty much anything you can come up with to help. As long as you have more HP as the Time Limit is reached, you'll come out on top.