Summary
- Team building is the first step to winning battles in Pokémon Champions VGC.
- You need to take into account type coverage, items, movesets, and many other factors when making a team.
- Some good teams you can use for now involve weather setups like Rain and Sandstorm.
Even if you are unfamiliar with the Pokémon Champions VGC (Video Game Championships) scene, you must realize that team building is an important part of any Pokémon battle. Team building in Pokémon Champions is markedly different from that in any previous format for a few reasons. These primarily include a limited roster, move balancing, and fewer items, to name a few. This guide will feature everything you need to know before you construct a team for yourself, while also giving you some ideas to make your own team.
Pokémon Champions VGC Team Building Explained
There are several things you need to take note of before you start building a team in Pokémon Champions. These include, but are not limited to:
- Type Weaknesses and Coverage
- Movesets, Natures, Abilities
- Regional Mechanics
- Individual Roles
Type Coverage
Every Pokémon has an inherent type weakness, resistance, or immunity. You need to have a defensively sound team, where ideally, multiple Pokémon do not share weaknesses. Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule, but just a general suggestion because you become liable to being swept by one Pokémon.
In this aspect, the best defensive types include Steel, Fairy, Ghost, Ground, and Dark. Out of these, Steel shines in particular, as it resists 10 types and has an extra immunity as well. Fairy Pokémon are crucial in countering Dragons.
Meanwhile, Ghost and Dark are also great types since Ghost can shut down Fighting and Normal-type Pokémon while Dark is the counter to Psychic Pokémon.
Moveset
Once a Pokémon has been selected, you need to focus on its moveset. You should select its moveset after carefully considering the following factors:
- STAB (Same Type Attack Boost)
- Power of a move
- Secondary effect (a status condition, or stat reduction/raise is extremely strong)
- Type Coverage
The first three are self-explanatory; you should try to keep at least one move with STAB, while selecting moves with high base power. However, this second point can be ignored if the secondary effect of a move makes it worth using.
Lastly, you must also have an offensively diverse attacking roster as well. You will deal double damage for landing super effective hits, which can be the difference between a win and a loss.
Nature, Abilities, and Items
These three are the next steps after you decide the moveset of a Pokémon. The nature you choose will depend on the moves and stats of a Pokémon. If it is bulkier and slower, you will want to invest in defensive stats.
Next, we have abilities. Each Pokémon usually has two to three options to choose from in this regard. You will want to make your choice based on two factors. Firstly, you should try to understand which ability suits and supports the playing style of your Pokémon. Secondly, you should also note that the more common or useful ability would likely be known and expected by your opponent.
Lastly, the Held Item also makes a huge difference for certain Pokémon. This can range from holding a normal berry to a Mega Stone, which brings us to the next thing to pay attention to.
Regional Mechanics
There are many regional mechanics in Pokémon. These include Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization. For now, Pokémon Champions only has Mega Evolution available. However, this is expected to change as time goes on. Once you have access to Terastallization, you should be able to use many Pokémon that are not viable at the moment.
Pokémon Champions Team Roles Explained
Each Pokémon on a Pokémon Champions team plays a specific role. These are:
- Walls/Stalls: These are the tanks of a party, and are supposed to soak up damage for the entire team. This can either be through redirecting attacks or setting up protective and annoying moves to deal with.
- This can also include Pokémon like Shedinja, whose abilities make it extremely difficult to take it out.
- Sweeper/Glass Cannons: You will want at least one or two good offensive Pokémon, which can reliably take out the entire team.
- These do not have to be frail like glass cannons, but the criteria for being in this category is a good offensive move pool, combined with high Attack or Special Attack stats.
- Weather/Utility: These are Pokémon that setup weather effects like Rain or Sandstorm, which help to boost your team further. Weather is not the only way to support your team. This role can also include setups like Trick Room, which make certain Pokémon deadly.
- Hazard/Anti-Hazard: Hazard moves like Toxic, Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Sticky Web can be lethal over time. Thus, you will definitely want to include one on your team, or at least have a plan to counter these setups, if you encounter them in matches.
Pokémon Champions Best Teams for VGC
These are some of the best teams that will help carry you into the top ranks of Pokémon Champions:
| Pokémon | Pokémon | Pokémon | Pokémon | Pokémon | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incineroar | Sneasler | Mega Charizard Y | Venusaur | Garchomp | Wash Rotom |
| Meganium (Mega) | Pelipper | Basculegion | Archaludon | Dragonite | Sneasler |
| Tyranitar (Mega) | Sinistcha | Excadrill | Milotic | Volcarona | Dragonite |
| Kingambit | Eternal Floette (Mega) | Incineroar | Sneasler | Basculegion | Sinistcha |
| Dragonite (Mega) | Sneasler | Whimsicott | Gengar (Mega) | Pelipper | Incineroar |
FAQs
What are the best Pokémon to use in Pokémon Champions?
For now, Incineroar, Sneasler, Basculegion, and Sinistcha are some of the common Pokémon seeing use in ranked battles.
How to decide on the four Pokémon for a duo battle?
At the start of a battle, you will be given the option to select four out of the six teams. Ideally, you should carefully (and quickly) analyze your opponent’s team and choose counter picks for their Pokémon.
This won’t always be possible, so in these cases, you should stick to universally strong picks or Pokémon that won’t be expected by the opponent.
Can you use Terastallization and other Regional Mechanics in Pokémon Champions?
For now, only Mega Evolution is available in the game. However, the Omni Ring is capable of using Z-Moves, Dynamax, Gigantamax, and Terastallization. We are expecting these mechanics to be added in later regulations, or future seasons.
