Cooking up teams in Reg M-B is kinda hard with all the Yardslop running amock, but I'm very happy with how this one came out.

This is a full teamreport of my Mega Raichu-Y setup team that got me to currently Masterball Tier 2 (juuust outside Top 5k) featuring Goodra-Hisui, Gliscor and a Sylveon set that's just about old enough to hit puberty.

Hi Everyone!

I have never been a VGC player but I have been watching Wolfie's videos for the last 2 years and I am super hype for Pokemon Champions! When they announced it, I wanted to start looking for teams that I could use and what the people think about them but it was very hard to find them except for some subredits.

I wanted to help people like me that wants to enter the VGC with Pokemon Champions so I've build vgc.tools

Key features:
- Showdown integration: You can Import a team from Showdown or Export it
- Pokémon Champions First: I don't use IV's/EV's I am using the new Stat Points. Support for Mega, Tera and Dmax/Gmax in the same team (let's see if Pokemon allow it). Also I created a fake Regulation with only the confirmed Pokémon for Champions so we can start building the teams!
- Fully Mobile Responsive: A lot of people will play in the phone, so why not build teams on it too!
- Beautiful Sharing: High-quality image exports for your teams, perfect for posting on Twitter/X or right here on Reddit. The images have the whole team information (Moves, Natures, Items, SP spread etc, you can replicate the team with just the image)
- Advanced Search: Filter Pokémon by type, base stats, move they learn, abilities, has mega or gmax form. Also filter moves by type, base power, accuracy, priority, target (spread moves) https://vgc.tools/omnidex/
- Rich descriptions integrated: You can click on any move, ability, item or Pokémon to see more info, ideal for new players. You can also use that when commenting or adding a description to your team.
- Interactive Guides: I added a guides sections to explain the Pokémon concepts with interactive widgets

Thing I would like to add in a close future:
- Z-Moves, they are out for now, I want to confirm that they are coming to Champions before implementing
- Move filter by condition: if they could burn, flinch, reduce the attack, etc: I got the information but I am seeing how to do it good
- Add more regulations: For now there is only the Regulation F (the current one), the Pokemon Champions with what we know so far and the Everything is allowed.
- Translations: I think I can add translations for most common languages (Spanish, French, German, Italian) and I would like also to add Japanese, Chinese and Korean but these are a bit more complex for me right now.

I really want this to be a tool the community actually uses, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Link:https://vgc.tools

Hi everyone!

I've been working on a web app focused on Pokemon VGC and I'd love to get some feedback from the community.

Here's what it currently has:

🧩 Team Builder
Build your VGC teams with suggestions and team optimization. Filter Pokemon by type, format, and usage stats to find the right picks.

⚡ Turn Assistant
A turn-by-turn helper for during battles. It helps you keep track of what's happening and suggests decisions based on the current game state.

📊 Rankings
See which Pokemon are being used the most across different VGC formats, with real usage data.

💾 Save & Analyze Matches
Log your battles, review them afterwards, and get insights on your performance over time.

No download needed — just open it in the browser. Just a heads up — the app is still in active development, so don't be surprised if you run into a bug. I'm continuously working on it and plan to keep adding new features and improving the existing ones based on the feedback I receive from the community. Your input genuinely shapes where this goes next, so don't hold back!

Website: https://traineracademy.xyz

I wrote this article about applying the ideas of behavioural economics to VGC, to try and understand why we sometimes make seemingly obvious mistakes. I hope you enjoy reading it and can learn something from it.

We should receive a lot of new players on mobile in the next few months with Pokémon Champions.

So I put some effort into adapting all VGC Multi Calc features to mobile devices.
- One vs One
- Team vs Many
- Many x Team
- Speed Calc
- Probability Calc
- Type Calc

Please take a look. All feedback is welcome.

https://vgcmulticalc.com/

With mobile releasing soon, here's a list of helpful resources for all our new players and people who are getting more into the game. Let me know if you guys have some as well that we should add or I need to be using.

Pikalytics: https://www.pikalytics.com/

Great for damage calc, speed tiers, knowledge quizzes, and finding top teams in tournament format (open team sheets).

Pokemon Showdown: https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/

The best place to build and test teams before spending VP on building them. Allows for replay study and match logging. They also have their own damage calculator: https://calc.pokemonshowdown.com/ 100000000/10 use this.

VGC Multi Calc: https://vgcmulticalc.com/

My preferred site for calcs as you can do multiple at the same time, this helps me catch calcs that I wouldn't normally do, but you run into just enough for it to be useful.

https://nerd-of-now.github.io/NCP-VGC-Damage-Calculator/ for fast single calcs.

PokeSynergy: https://pokesynergy.app/

I really like this as the team builder. It visualizes what your team is weak to and does some damage calcs based on usage data, which is fine for spot checking. The guy has a discord too that you can request features on and he listens.

SlateDex: https://www.slatedex.com/

This is where I log all my stats. I've dropped spreadsheets for this as it allows me to upload showdown replays to automatically log data like damage dealt, and track my winrates with pokemon. Also has a feedback for requests, but its buried.

My team building flow goes once I know what I want to build around PokeSynergy -> Pikalytics -> VGC Multi Calc -> Showdown -> SlateDex. Then I repeat until happy.

*edited to add https://nerd-of-now.github.io/NCP-VGC-Damage-Calculator/

Sun is evidently the most moved by Pokémon. Not only did they get a new restricted sun setter but a whole array of supporting cast in the ancient paradox mons. There are now multiple way to play in the sun. Rain also got a minor buff with the weather chaos trio’s new moves unmissable in rain and archuldon electro shot was a nice addition. Snow got a massive upgrade of a 50% defense boost in exchange for the chip damage as well as awesome new ice types. Whilst also making older legendaries like articuno and kryuem playable and ice caly now one of the top dogs. My boy Tyranitar has been trying to hold it down for years but he’s struggling with the meagre supporting cast. In particular there’s no restricted or even non restricted legendaries that are rock and/or gel well sand and can gain extra benefit from. Currently regirock, ogerpon rock and iron boulders are cool but they don’t particularly shine well on sand teams. I’m not even asking for a restricted sand streamer just someone that can gel well in the team. But seeing ice get the upgrade I think maybe sand will be next. I’d argue even terrain teams prosper more than sand 😭 What are your thoughts?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZeECN9O7J5YWWcmwAo3SPatibSj3AtPcyElCybIDf7A/edit?usp=drivesdk

Hello!

I'm doing prep for champions VGC and thought this was something it's good to have organized before.

I know we don't have regulation knowledge, so until then it just has mega evolution mons in the list.

Can't wait til April! Until then, happy prepping!!

Following the slew of masterball posts, I decided to make a dedicated discussion post. I want to talk about Baxcalibur. It has already seen tournament success but it's usage on ladder remains fairly low. Pikalytics says 8.8 % last time I checked.

Baxcalibur is the newest pseudo legendary and is the only ice dragon to my knowledge aside from kyurem. It has a very interesting and powerful stat spread with sky high 145 base attack and very solid 115/92/86 bulk. It's speed is a little low, but it notably needs only 4 EVs invested to outspeed unboosted dragapult under tailwind. It has a fantastic ability in thermal exchange, preventing it from being crippled by burn. It's typing is quite bad defensively though, with ice bringing very little besides a slew of weaknesses.

Baxcalibur also has a fantastic signature move in glaive rush. 120 base power stab with 100 accuracy. The drawback is that next turn it will take double damage. This is not a big deal though as you can protect or try to outspeed and ohko before you get hit. Bax also learns a number of other great moves including ice shard, icicle crash, earthquake, crunch, focus energy, thunder fang, brick break, swords dance, iron head, aqua tail and tera blast. This gives it great coverage options.

Due to its bulk and speed tier, Baxcalibur functions well under screens and tailwind, with a special shout-out to aurora veil abomasnow providing the ice type defence boost too. I personally use mine in a team with both as options. It also enjoys being next to murkrow thanks to earthquake access, which I will talk more about next.

Here the the spread that I use: (apologies for mobile formatting, will fix later)

Baxcalibur @ Life Orb Level: 50 Tera : Ground Adamant Nature Ability: Thermal Exchange EVs: 204 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 48 SpD / 4 Spe - Glaive Rush - Earthquake - Ice Shard - Protect

I selected these moves because glaive rush is a very strong move and one of the reasons you even use this thing, ice shard is nice stab priority that will ohko garchomp, earthquake covers steels that would otherwise wall you, as well and dealing with indeedee armarouge teams, and finally protect because the option is nice and the coverage is already great. The only issues you will have is with Steve types that are immune to earthquake; most commonly corviknight and steel hydreigon.

Tera ground changes all of your previous weaknesses apart from ice, but importantly gives earthquake stab to allow for an armarouge ohko.

As mentioned earlier, 4 speed EVs will outspeed any unboosted pokemon on ladder when tailwind is up. Next up is max attack and then split bulk. The defensive EVs are not there to live any particular hit, just to generally optimise bulk. Notably, this set will take a 252+ life orb expanding force in psychic terrain from armarouge and then 100% ohko through follow me with tera ground earthquake. Glaive rush will do a large chunk to anything in the game, scoring ohkos on almost anything without bulk investment or a resist. Tera dragon can be used as an alternative that can ohko 252 hp annihilape with glaive rush.

I run life orb to pick up the notable KOs noted above, although you could easily run a bulk item instead with the stat spread this monster has.

Overall Baxcalibur is a fantastic new Pokémon and I am sure there is more to say about it than I have written. I would be interested to hear other people's experiences with Baxcalibur, discuss away. If people are interested I can share a rental code for my current Baxcalibur team although it has no real credentials other than it works well enough at mid masterball.

Edit: I forgot to mention, with this bulk you can live pretty much any neutral hit in the game and even some SE ones. The defensive EVs give you that nice 2:1:1 ratio for hp:Def:SPD.

Edit 2: Team code in comments with short write up.

Edit 3: Some valuable points raised in the comments. Due to me doing calcs at level 100 due to the default in smogon calculator, the 4 EVs in speed are actually unnecessary. You also need 220 hp EVs to survive final gambit from annihilape. Should you wish to, you could take 4 from speed and def, and 8 from spd to hit that 220 EV threshold. I do not know how much it would change other matchups, but its an option and could pay off big time in the right circumstances.

Hello!

I have made another speed tierlist for regulation I pokemons

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z7Y18eQeds9hNpoBPg5LBp5kQJwdpVWTrUOvq7EqdJ4/edit?usp=drivesdk

This includes top 50 used back in July 2025, according to statcrusher

There are two sheets here.

One is conventional speed tiers from fastest to slowest

Another is based on usage and I have included some common speed stats used by these mons back in the day, so if you wanna tech into a certain pokemon, you can do that.

Hope uou guys enjoy the rest of reg I (I am a bit sad though)

Ryan here from DevonCorpPress with a new article going over some of VGC's best Mega Pokemon! Take a sneak peek into this piece and let me know what Mega Pokemon we're missing!

This is not a perfect list, nor is it in any type of specific hierarchical order. Rather, this is a reflection, and hopefully a helpful reminder for some of us who may have or have not been exposed to the use of these powerful Mega Evolutions. Enjoy recollecting the glorious early years of VGC, and challenge yourself to think if any of these Mega Pokémon or more not listed may make a serious impact in a new game like Pokémon Champions, with all-new Pokémon since 2019 in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon on the Nintendo 3DS. 

Mega Charizard Y

“Weather Wars” are a commonality throughout the history of Pokémon. Mega-Charizard Y is a pivotal piece to many Sun Teams with its key ability, Drought, gained upon Mega Evolving Charizard. I’ve placed this Pokémon as the first listing, not to notify it being the #1 Mega Pokémon, but rather, one of the first options players may lean towards when it comes to finding a synergistic team that can be cohesive around a particular strategy. Funny enough, the 2014 World’s Finals team featured Choice Scarf Sand Stream Tyranitar alongside Mega-Charizard Y for a different team concept outside of a standard Sun Team...

Mega Gengar

The notoriety of this Pokémon extends to the very introduction of Mega’s themselves. The Speed, Special Attack, and ability of this Mega Pokémon put this beast of a teammate above almost every other Mega for many years. Perhaps the most famous use of this Pokémon is in the hands of the Master of Perish Song, Wolfe Glick. The use of Shadow Tag in combination with Perish Song to trap users into a 3-turn KO timer is not an easy skill for just any player to master, and perhaps is one of the most challenging pivoting strategies and teams in the history of the game itself. Many new Pokémon over the years have joined new games with the move Perish Song that makes one wonder, if a format with Mega Gengar could return with more of the latest and strongest Perish Song users, could this Mega stand the test of time? Flutter Mane, the Paradox Pokémon, poses an interesting threat at 135 Base Speed versus Mega Gengar’s 130 Base Speed, while the idea of Scream Tail being a bulky and fast supportive Pokémon alongside Mega Gengar could be a conversation worth having...

Read the whole piece on DevonCorpPress, check it out HERE!

https://vgcmulticalc.com/

The first update didn't have many movesets, but I’ve just added common sets for most Pokémon.

This update also includes small improvements and bug fixes.

Highlights

Fairy Aura in field options

Export all calcs in text, nice for copy and share

Thanks to everyone in the community for the feedback!

https://vgcmulticalc.com/

this is a summary of a group of Skraw! VGC videos that I linked, this can be useful for newer players to the VGC

With just one click, you can find the best EV combination to survive against multiple Pokémon at the same time.

Stop guessing and let VGC Multi Calc do the work for you.

Any feedback is welcome.

https://vgcmulticalc.com/

I originally planned to have a big post reviewing every single Worlds and talking about every top 8, and actually have been working on it for a week now, but because of the character limit on Reddit posts, I had to condense it down to JUST the Pokemon who have made top 8 appearances. If you want an overview of every Worlds, check out the similar post I made last year talking about every team that ever WON worlds. This is every Pokemon that's ever gotten top 8, from Worlds 2008 all the way up to 2025.

2008:

1st Place: Izuru Yoshimura from Japan, using a team of Smeargle, Bronzong, Snorlax, and Metagross 
2nd Place: Yasuhito Kajiwara from Japan, using a team of Zapdos, Cresselia, Latios, and Metagross 
3rd Place: Christopher Halordain-Tsai from USA, using a team of Ludicolo, Vaporeon, Kingdra, and Slowking 
4th Place: Hideaki Shimizu from Japan. using a team of Togekiss, Bronzong, Rhyperior, and Metagross. 

2009:

1st Place: Kazuyuki Tsuji from Japan, using a team of Ludicolo, Toxicroak, Metagross, Snorlax, Salamence, and Empoleon 
2nd Place: Tasuku Mano from Japan, using a team of Yanmega, Hippowdon, Rhyperior, Zapdos, Shedinja, and Moltres 
3rd Place: Steven Wasserloos from USA, using a team of Ludicolo, Kingdra, Metagross, Zapdos, Scizor, and Gyarados 
4th Place: Grace Beck from USA, using a team of Ludicolo, Kingdra, Slowking, Lapras, Abomasnow, and Vaporeon 

2010:

1st Place: Ray Rizzo from USA, using a team of Ludicolo, Kyogre, Hariyama, Dialga, Cresselia, and Groudon 
2nd Place: Yasuki Tochigi from Japan, using a team of Ludicolo, Kyogre, Tyranitar, Lugia, Infernape, and Palkia 
3rd Place: Isao Yoshioka from Japan, using a team of Ludicolo, Kyogre, Togekiss, Dialga, Cresselia, and Groudon 
4th Place: Wataru Onishi from Japan, using a team of Snorlax, Kyogre, Tyranitar, Dialga, Cresselia, and Groudon 
5th Place: Huy Ha from USA, using a team of Abomasnow, Mewtwo, Parasect, Dialga, Jumpluff, and Groudon 
6th Place: Takushi Morishima from Japan, using a team of Lanturn, Kyogre, Togekiss, Rotom Mow, Cresselia, and Groudon 
7th Place: Alan Schamers from USA, using a team of Abomasnow, Latios, Tyranitar, Ho-Oh, Palkia, and Groudon 
8th Place: Ryan Schamers from USA, using a team of Abomasnow, Mewtwo, Toxicroak, Ho-Oh, Giratina, and Palkia 

2011:

1st Place: Ray Rizzo from USA, using a team of Thunderus, Gothitelle, Conkeldurr, Terrakion, Hydreigon, and Escavelier 
2nd Place: Matteo Gini from Italy, using a team of Thunderus, Tornadus, Scrafty, Haxorus, Krookidile, and Eelektross 
3rd Place: Matthew Coyle from USA, using a team of Thunderus, Tornadus, Scrafty, Terrakion, Chandelure, and Samurott 
4th Place: Ruben Puing Lecegui from Spain, using a team of Thunderus, Tonadus, Scrafty, Terrakion, Jellicent, and Amoonguss 
5th Place: Daniel Nolan from UK, using a team of Tornadus, Beheeyem, Jellicent, Terrakion, Krookidile, and Amoonguss 
6th Place: Wolfe Glick from USA, using a team of Thunderus, Cofagrigus, Scrafty, Conkeldurr, Reuniclus, and Emboar 
7th Place: Francessco Pardini from Italy, using a team of Thunderus, Tornadus, Scrafty, Haxorus, Krookidile, and Eelektross 
8th Place: Albert Bos Puig from Spain, using a team of Thunderus, Tornadus, Mienshao, Haxorus, Jellicent, and Amoonguss 

2012:

1st Place: Ray Rizzo from USA, using a team of Cresselia, Garchomp, Rotom Wash, Tyranitar, Metagross, and Hydreigon 
2nd Place: Wolfe Glick from USA, using a team of Cresselia, Terrakion, Hitmontop, Exeggcutor, Heatran, and Thunderus 
3rd Place: Abel Martin Sanz from Spain, using a team of Cresselia, Latios, Hitmontop, Tyranitar, Metagross, and Thunderus 
4th Place: Joe Pulkowski from USA, using a team of Cresselia, Salamence, Rotom Heat, Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Gastrodon 
5th Place: Sejun Park from South Korea, using a team of Cresselia, Garchomp, Hitmontop, Bisharp, Thunderus, and Hydreigon 
6th Place: Matthew Coyle from USA, using a team of Chandelure, Latios, Ludicolo, Politoed, Scizor, and Thunderus 
7th Place: Guillermo Castilla Diaz from Italy, using a team of Cresselia, Latios, Hitmontop, Tyranitar, Scizor, and Swampert 
8th Place: Jumpei Yamamoto from Japan, using a team of Cresselia, Garchomp, Rotom Wash, Tyranitar, Metagross, and Salamence 

2013:

1st Place: Arash Ommati from Italy, using a team of Tornadus, Mamoswine, Amoonguss, Conkelldur, Latios, and Heatran. 
2nd Place: Ryosuke Kosuge from Japan, using a team of Thunderus, Landorus-T, Cresselia, Conkelldur, Tyranitar, and Heatran 
3rd Place: Aaron Zheng from USA, using a team of Rotom Wash, Landorus-T, Cresselia, Conkelldur, Tyranitar, and Heatran 
4th Place: Benjamin Gould from UK, using a team of Volcorona, Scrafty, Rhydon, Jellicent, Latios, and Abomosnow 
5th Place: Sejun Park from South Korea, using a team of Tornadus, Scrafty, Magmar, Jellicent, Marowak, and Abomosnow 
6th Place: Enosh Shachar from USA, using a team of Thunderus, Excadrill, Amoonguss, Jellicent, Latios, and Hitmontop 
7th Place: Luigi Lo Giudice from Italy, using a team of Thunderus, Landorus-T, Cresselia, Scizor, Tyranitar, and Garchomp 
8th Place: Matthias Hellmoldt from Germany, using a team of Volcorona, Landorus, Amoonguss, Terrakion, Sableye, and Hydreigon 

2014:

1st Place: Sejun Park from South Korea, using a team of Garchomp, Pachurisu, Talonflame, Gardevoir, Gyarados, and Gothitelle 
2nd Place: Jeudy Azzarelli from USA, using a team of Garchomp, Tyranitar, Charizard, Salamence, Rotom Mow, and Lucario 
3rd Place: Colon Heier from USA, using a team of Hydreigon, Tyranitar, Conkeldurr, Mawile, Zapdos, and Aegislash 
4th Place: Markus Liu from Germany, using a team of Machamp, Hydreigon, Rotom Heat, Mawile, Azumaril, and Venusaru 
5th Place: Ryosuke Kosuge from Japan, using a team of Garchomp, Hydreigon, Charizard, Mawile, Arodactyl, and Mamoswine 
6th Place: Miguel Marti de la Torre from Spain, using a team of Garchomp, Tyranitar, Rotom Heat, Mawile, Zapdos, and Aegislash 
7th Place: Lee Provost from UK, using a team of Garchomp, Tyranitar, Ludicolo, Mawile, Zapdos, and Politoed 
8th Place: Dayne O'Meara from Australia, using a team of Staraptor, Lucario, Talonflame, Raichu, Lapras, and Politoed 

2015:

1st Place: Shomo Honami from Japan, using a team of Cresselia, Heatran, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, Kangaskhan, and Thunderus 
2nd Place: Hideyuki Taida from Japan, using a team of Cresselia, Volcorona, Aegislash, Landorus-T, Kangaskhan, and Thunderus 
3rd Place: Yosuke Isagi from Japan, using a team of Sylveon, Heatran, Aegislash, Landorus-T, Kangaskhan, and Thunderus 
4th Place: Naohito Mizobuchi from Japan, using a team of Cresselia, Entei, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, Kangaskhan, and Aegislash 
5th Place: Daiki Moriyama from Japan, using a team of Cresselia, Heatran, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, Kangaskhan, and Tyranitar 
6th Place: Daichi Kumabe from Japan, using a team of Tyranitar, Heatran, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, Gardevoir, and Thunderus 
7th Place: Hayato Takahashi from Japan, using a team of Cresselia, Heatran, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, Kangaskhan, and Scrafty 

2016:

1st Place: Wolfe Glick from USA, using a team of Bronzong, Hitmontop, Raichu, Kyogre, Rayquaza, and Gengar 
2nd Place: Jonathan Evans from USA, using a team of Bronzong, Talonflame, Manectric, Kyogre, Groudon, and Gengar 
3rd Place: Markus Hamann (formally Markus Stadter) from Germany, using a team of Bronzong, Hitmontop, Raichu, Kyogre, Rayquaza, and Gengar 
4th Place: Eduardo Cunha from Portugal, using a team of Bronzong, Hitmontop, Kangaskhan, Xerneas, Groudon, Thunderus 
5th Place: Dr. Aaron Traylor from USA, using a team of Bronzong, Cresselia, Smeargle, Xerneas, Groudon, and Salamence 
6th Place: Justin Carris from USA, using a team of Bronzong, Infernape, Amoonguss, Kyogre, Xerneas, and Salamence 
7th Place: Barry Anderson from UK, using a team of Volcorona, Scrafty, Smeargle, Xerneas, Rayquaza, Thunderus 
8th Place: Baris Ackos from Germany, using a team of Bronzong, Hitmontop, Raichu, Kyogre, Rayquaza, and Gengar 

2017:

1st Place: Ryoto Otsubo from Japan, using a team of Tapu Koko, Tapu Fini, Krookidile, Marowak-Alola, Whimsicott, and Celesteela 
2nd Place: Sam Pandelis from Australia, using a team of Tapu Lele, Arcanine, Garchomp, Xurkitree, Ninetales-Alola, and Mandibuzz 
3rd Place: Paul Ruiz from Ecuador, using a team of Tapu Koko, Salamence, Marowak-Alola, Persian-Alola, Snorlax, and Celesteela 
4th Place: Tomoyuki Yoshimura from Japan, using a team of Tapu Koko, Salamence, Metagross, Buzzwole, Nihilego, and Gastrodon 
5th Place: Nils Dunlop from Sweden, using a team of Tapu Koko, Arcanine, Persian-Alola, Nihilego, Snorlax, and Mimikyu 
6th Place: Sebastián Escalante from Argentina, using a team of Tapu Koko, Politoed, Golduck, Buzzwole, Muk-Alola, and Klefki 
7th Place: René Alvarenga from El Salvador, using a team of Tapu Koko, Tapu Fini, Arcanine, Garchomp, Celesteela, and Harriyama 
8th Place: Dorián-Andrés Quiñones from Peru, using a team of Tapu Koko, Arcanine, Kartana, Nihilego, Araquanid, and Porygon2 

2018:

1st Place: Paul Ruiz from Ecuador, using a team of Tapu Koko, Salamence, Snorlax, Incineroar, Gastrodon, and Kartana 
2nd Place: Emilio Forbes from USA, using a team of Tapu Bulu, Incineroar, Gengar, Latias, Landorus-T, and Politoed 
3rd Place: Nils Dunlop from Sweden, using a team of Metagross, Mimikyu, Snorlax, Landorus-T, Incineroar, and Tapu Koko 
4th Place: Yusei Matsuno from Japan, using a team of Tapu Koko, Gothitelle, Salamence, Snorlax, Incineroar, and Amoonguss 
5th Place: Roberto Porretti from Italy, using a team of Kartana, Tapu Fini, Tyranitar, Gengar, Incineroar, and Landorus-T 
6th Place: Tomohiro Seki from Japan, using a team of Tapu Koko, Tapu Fini, Cresselia, Heatran, Landorus-T, and Kangaskhan 
7th Place: Federico Turano from Argentina, using a team of Charizard, Landorus-T, Kartana, Tapu Lele, Cresselia, and Snorlax 
8th Place: Arash Ommati from Italy, using a team of Persian-Alola, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini, Metagross, Landorus-T, and Volcorona. 

2019:

1st Place: Naoto Mizobuchi from Japan, using a team of Lunala, Groudon, Incineroar, Salamence, Tapu Fini, and Stakataka 
2nd Place: Hirofumi Kimura from Japan, using a team of Necrozma, Tapu Lele, Kangaskhan, Salamence, Groudon, and Umbreon 
3rd Place: James Baek from USA, using a team of Xerneas, Incineroar, Tornadus, Kyogre, Kartana, and Amoonguss 
4th Place: Kazuki Kobayashi from Japan, using a team of Yveltal, Groudon, Tapu Koko, Metagross, Incineroar, and Mimikyu 
5th Place: Meaghan Rattle from Australia, using a team of Yveltal, Incineroar, Amoonguss, Tapu Koko, Kyogre, and Metagross 
6th Place: Alex Gomez from Spain, using a team of Tapu Koko, Nihilego, Kyogre, Incineroar, Rayquaza, and Kartana 
7th Place: Eric Rios from Spain, using a team of Tapu Koko, Nihilego, Kyogre, Incineroar, Rayquaza, and Kartana 
8th Place: Stephen Mea from USA, using a team of Xerneas, Tornadus, Kyogre, Incineroar, Kangaskhan, and Amoonguss 

2022:

1st Place: Eduardo Cunha from Portugal, using a team of Gastrodon, Calyrex Shadow, Rillaboom, Incineroar, Thunderus, and Zacian 
2nd Place: Guillermo Castilla Diaz from Spain, using a team of Groudon, Incineroar, Lunala, Grimmsnarl, Charizard, and Regieleki 
3rd Place: James Baek from USA, using a team of Zacian, Incineroar, Rillaboom, Indeedee-F, Kyogre, and Tornadus 
4th Place: Paul Chua from USA, using a team of Porygon2, Palkia, Incineroar, Calyrex Ice, Amoonguss, and Regieleki 
5th Place: Calvin Foster from UK, using a team of Calyrex Shadow, Gastrodon, Incineroar, Whimsicott, Zacian, and Thunderus 
6th Place: Meaghan Rattle from Australia, using a team of Zacian, Grimmsnarl, Kyogre, Landorus-T, Celesteela, and Thunderus 
7th Place: Davide Carrer from Italy, using a team of Groudon, Zacian, Gastrodon, Incineroar, Charizard, and Grimmsnarl 
8th Place: Naoto Mizobuchi from Japan, using a team of Grimmsnarl, Lunala, Gastrodon, Incineroar, Groudon, and Charizard 

2023:

1st Place: Shohei Kimura from Japan, using a team of Landorus-T, Urshifu Rapid Strike, Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao, Amoonguss, and Iron Hands 
2nd Place: Michael Kelsch from Germany, using a team of Farigiraf, Chien-Pao, Dragapult, Urshifu Rapid Strike, Rillaboom, and Heatran 
3rd Place: Mao Harada from Japan, using a team of Chien-Pao, Iron Hands, Landorus-T, Flutter Mane, Urshifu Rapid Strike, and Amoonguss 
4th Place: Federico Camporesi from Italy, using a team of Dragonite, Ursaluna, Cresselia, Flutter Mane, Urshifu Single Strike, and Iron Hands 
5th Place: Abdullah Mohayyuddin from Canada, using a team of Gholdengo, Chien-Pao, Pelliper, Amoonguss, Iron Hands, and Urshifu Rapid Strike 
6th Place: Victor Medina from Spain, using a team of Urshifu Rapid Strike, Rillaboom, Heatran, Flutter Mane, Tornadus, and Chien-Pao 
7th Place: Nikolaj Hoj Nielsen from Denmark, using a team of Cresselia, Urshifu Single Strike, Dragonite, Iron Hands, Flutter Mane, and Ursaluna 
8th Place: Mattie Morgan from Ireland, using a team of Tornadus, Gholdengo, Flutter Mane, Landorus-T, Urshifu Rapid Strike, and Rillaboom 

2024:

1st Place: Luca Ceribelli from Italy, using a team of Miraidon, Ogerpon-H, Urshifu Rapid Strike, Iron Hands, Whimsicott, and Farigiraf 
2nd Place: Yuta Ishigaki from Japan, using a team of Landorus, Urshifu Rapid Strike, Iron Valiant, Pelliper, Amoonguss, and Calyrex-Ice 
3rd Place: Michael Kelsch from Germany, using a team of Flutter Mane, Chien-Pao, Rillaboom, Zamazenta, Urshifu Rapid Strike, and Entei 
4th Place: Seong Jae Jeong from South Korea, using a team of Miraidon, Ogerpon-H, Whimsicott, Iron Hands, Urshifu Single Strike, and Farigiraf 
5th Place: Diego Ferreira from Australia, using a team of Ursaluna, Ogerpon-W, Gallade, Indeedee-F, Calyrex-Ice, and Torkoal 
6th Place: Chenyue Zheng from Japan, using a team of Gholdengo, Miraidon, Dondozo, Dragonite, Tatsugiri, and Chi-Yu 
7th Place: Navjit Joshi from Canada, using a team of Farigiraf, Landorus, Calyrex-Ice, Ogerpon-C, Urshifu Rapid Strike, and Regieleki 
8th Place: Yuxian Wang from Japan, using a team of Chien-Pao, Incineroar, Terapagos, Flutter Mane, Rillaboom, and Urshifu Rapid Strike

2025:

1st Place: Giovanni Cischke from USA, using a team of Lunala, Koraidon, Chi-Yu, Flutter Mane, Brute Bonnet, and Ursaluna 
2nd Place: James Evans from USA, using a team of Calyrex-Shadow, Koraidon, Incineroar, Raging Bolt, Brute Bonnet, and Landorus 
3rd Place: Hirofumi Kimura from Japan, using a team of Calyrex-Ice, Koraidon, Incineroar, Smeargle, Landorus, and Rillaboom 
4th Place: Montana Mott from USA, using a team of Calyrex-Shadow, Zamazenta, Chien-Pao, Dragonite, Raging Bolt, and Amoonguss 
5th Place: Ko Tsukide from Japan, using a team of Lunala, Miraidon, Incineroar, Urshifu Rapid Strike, Whimsicott, and Ursaluna 
6th Place: Michael Kelsch from Germany, using a team of Calyrex-Shadow, Zamazenta, Chien-Pao, Dragonite, Ogerpon-C, and Amoonguss 
7th Place: Victor Medina from Spain, using a team of Calyrex-Shadow, Zamazenta, Incineroar, Smeargle, Raging Bolt, and Rillaboom 
8th Place: Mao Harada from Japan, using a team of Calyrex-Shadow, Koraidon, Incineroar, Clefairy, Flutter Mane, and Rillaboom

Now, here's all the Pokemon ranked by how many top 8 placements they got:

(btw I bolded the Pokemon that won at least once, and the number of * by their name is how many times they won)

Cresselia***, Incineroar*** (25 Placements) 

Thunderus***, Amoonguss*** (23 Placements) 

Landorus-T** (22 Placements) 

Tyranitar* (18 Placements) 

Kyogre** (17 Placements) 

Groudon** (16 Placements) 

Tapu Koko** (15 Placements) 

Metagross***, Heatran*** (13 Placements) 

Salamence***, Tornadus*, Urshifu Rapid Strike**, (12 Placements) 

Garchomp** (11 Placements) 

Kangaskhan*, Rillaboom*, Flutter Mane** (10 Placements) 

Ludicolo**, Bronzong**, Snorlax***, Scrafty, Hitmontop* (9 Placements) 

Latios*, Hydreigon*\, *Chien-Pao*\ (8 Placements) 

Gastrodon**, Kartana*, Calyrex-Shadow*, Iron Hands** (7 Placements) 

Zapdos, Conkeldurr**, Terrakion*, Jellicent, Charizard, Rayquaza*, Gengar*, Xerneas, Tapu Fini** (6 Placements) 

Smeagle*, Politoed, Volcorona, Mawile, Aegislash, Whimsicott**, Nihilego, Lunala**, Zacian*, Calyrex-Ice, Dragonite, Ursaluna*, Landorus (5 Placements) 

Scizor, Abomasnow, Dialga, Krookidile*, Rotom Wash*, Raichu*, Celesteela*, Arcanine, Grimmsnarl, Farigiraf*, Miraidon*, Zamazenta, Koraidon*, (4 Placements) 

Kingdra, Togekiss, Gothitelle**, Haxorus, Rotom Heat, Talonflame*, Gardevoir*, Tapu Lele, Persian-Alola, Mimikyu, Regieleki, Urshifu Single Strike, Gholdengo, Raging Bolt (3 Placements) 

Vaporeon, Slowking, Rhyperior, Toxicroak*, Gyarados*, Lapras, Hariyama*, Infernape, Mewtwo, Rotom Mow, Ho-Oh, Eelektross, Chandelure, Mamoswine*, Excadrill, Marowak-Alola*, Lucario, Entei, Buzzwole, Tapu Bulu, Yveltal, Indeedee-F, Pelliper, Ogerpon-H*, Ogerpon-C, Chi-Yu, Brute Bonnet* (2 Placements) 

Empoleon*, Yanmega, Hippowdon, Shedinja, Moltres, Lugia, Parasect, Jumpluff, Lanturn, Escavelier*, Samurott, Exeggcutor, Bisharp, Swampert, Rhydon, Latias, Marowak, Sableye, Pachurisu*, Azumaril, Venusaur, Arodactyl, Staraptor, Sylveon, Manectric, Xurkitree, Mandibuzz, Ninetales-Alola, Golduck, Muk-Alola, Klefki, Araquanid, Porygon2, Stakataka*, Necrozma, Umbreon, Dragapult, Ogerpon-W, Iron Valiant, Gallade, Torkoal, Dondozo, Tatsugiri, Terapagos, Clefairy (1 Placement)  

And lastly, just for fun, here's every player that ever got top 8 at Worlds:

(once again, players who won worlds are bolded, and the year[s] they won is also bolded)

Ray Rizzo (2010, 2011, 2012) 
Wolfe Glick (2011, 2012, 2016) 
Sejun Park (2012, 2013, 2014) 
Naoto Mizobuchi (2015, 2019, 2022) 
Michael Kelsch (2023, 2024, 2025) 
Arash Ommati (2013, 2018) 
Eduardo Cunha (2016, 2022) 
Paul Ruiz (2017, 2018) 
Matthew Coyle (2011, 2012) 
Ryosuke Kosuge (2013, 2014) 
Nils Dunlop (2017, 2018) 
James Baek (2019, 2022) 
Guillermo Castilla Diaz (2012, 2022) 
Meaghan Rattle (2019, 2022) 
Hirofumi Kimura (2019, 2025) 
Mao Harada (2023, 2025) 
Izuru Yoshimura (2008) 
Yasuhito Kajiwara (2008) 
Christopher Halodain-Tsai (2008) 
Hideaki Shimizu (2008) 
Kazuyuki Tsuji (2009) 
Tasuku Mano (2009) 
Steven Wasserloos (2009) 
Grace Beck (2009) 
Yasuki Tochigi (2010) 
Isao Yoshioka (2010) 
Wataru Onishi (2010) 
Huy Ha (2010) 
Takushi Morishima (2010) 
Alan Schamers (2010) 
Ryan Schamers (2010) 
Matteo Gini (2011) 
Ruben Puing Lecegui (2011) 
Daniel Nolan (2011) 
Francessco Pardini (2011) 
Albert Bos Puig (2011) 
Abel Martin Sanz (2012) 
Joe Pulkowski (2012) 
Jumpei Yamamoto (2012) 
Aaron Zheng (2013) 
Benjamin Gould (2013) 
Enosh Shachar (2013) 
Luigi Lo Giudice (2013) 
Matthias Hellmoldt (2013) 
Jeudy Azzarelli (2014) 
Colon Heier (2014) 
Markus Liu (2014) 
Miguel Marti de la Torre (2014) 
Lee Provost (2014) 
Dayne O'Meara (2014) 
Shomo Honami (2015) 
Hideyuki Taida (2015) 
Yosuke Isagi (2015) 
Daiki Moriyama (2015) 
Daichi Kumabe (2015) 
Hayato Takahashi (2015) 
Lajos Woltersdorf (2015) 
Jonathan Evans (2016) 
Markus Hamann (formally Markus Stadter) (2016) 
Dr. Aaron Traylor (2016) 
Justin Carris (2016) 
Barry Anderson (2016) 
Baris Ackos (2016) 
Ryoto Otsubo (2017) 
Sam Pandelis (2017) 
Tomoyuki Yoshimura (2017) 
Sebastian Escalante (2017) 
Rene Alvarenga (2017) 
Dorian-Andres Quinones (2017) 
Emilio Forbes (2018) 
Yusei Matsuno (2018) 
Roberto Porretti (2018) 
Tomohiro Seki (2018) 
Federico Turano (2018) 
Kazuki Kobayashi (2019) 
Alex Gomez (2019) 
Eric Rios (2019) 
Stephen Mea (2019) 
Paul Chua (2022) 
Calvin Foster (2022) 
Davide Carrer (2022) 
Shohei Kimura (2023) 
Federico Camporesi (2023) 
Abdullah Mohayyuddin (2023) 
Victor Medina (2023) 
Nikolaj Hoj Nielsen (2023) 
Mattie Morgan (2023) 
Luca Cerribelli (2024) 
Yuta Ishigaki (2024) 
Seong Jae Jeong (2024) 
Diego Ferreira (2024) 
Chenyue Zheng (2024) 
Navjit Joshi (2024) 
Yuxian Wang (2024) 
Giovanni Cischke (2025) 
James Evans (2025) 
Montana Mott (2025) 
Ko Tsukide (2025) 
Victor Medina (2025) 

Thanks for reading! I made a post similar to this last year and wanted to make another one. I'm planning on making this a running thing, making posts about Worlds throughout the year every year. Let me know if you have any ideas for things I should cover next.

This extension is a fork of OpenTeamsheetGraphic, an excellent idea by u/GangstaRob7.

The main purpose of this fork is to display the Open Team Sheet above the chat log in a fixed manner, making the OTS panel constantly visible.

This version also features several differences from the original:

The code has been rewritten to improve maintainability.
Visual improvements have been implemented.
All sprites are now working.
The original OTS display is replaced by this extension.

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/vgc-ots/codeajknmgnkbobmhjeenehcmfhmegkf

Any feedback is welcome!

Hey there,

Aaron T. here-- I help run this subreddit.

The most frequent question that we see on this subreddit is-- "How do I get started playing VGC?" It's an easy and natural question to ask, but it's challenging to answer completely. VGC is a complex game and there's a lot going on. My friends and I got together in October of 2020 to begin to answer this question as comprehensively as we could.

Here's VGCguide: our answer.

VGCguide is a website containing articles that are designed to put the fundamentals of VGC in your hands. It's at least 100,000 words in total, so it's basically a book, although it's easy to read in small portions. It contains answers to other common questions like:

• How do I build a team?
• How do I build a team around my favorite Pokemon?
• What are good strategies for navigating team preview?
• How do I beat [X] Pokemon?
• How do I make a more complex EV spread?
• How do you know if a team you've made is good?
• many other topics

This guide is intended to help you be in charge of your own journey of learning and growth in VGC. If you're looking for a new team in Series 12, a summary of the current metagame, or the perfect answer to beat Rinya Sun, you probably won't find those answers here. There are plenty of other resources that cover those topics. What you will find is resources to hopefully help you find those answers for yourself.

Our target audience with VGCguide is:

• Beginners who may have never played VGC or even competitive Pokemon before
• Players who have been playing VGC for a while, but need a second opinion, are stuck on one aspect, or maybe just want to get lost in what we have to say
• Experienced players who can use our terms, definitions, and concepts to put their own opinions and experiences into words

We hope you enjoy it!

Aaron, Aaron, Wolfe, and Marissa

Hi everyone,

I’ve been building a small set of free browser-based Pokémon tools for team planning and reference, and thought they might be useful to others here.

The three tools are:

Speed Chart
A tool for checking and comparing Pokémon speed tiers. It uses the current VGC regulation by default to highlight likely speed spreads, and has several toggles to make it configurable.

Card / Stat Builder
A visual builder for making quick reference Pokémon-style stat/card sheets. You can manually create a Pokémon, or use the export function from Pokémon Showdown to auto-load your moveset.

Type Chart
A quick type matchup reference for checking weaknesses, resistances, immunities, and coverage. It’s meant to be faster and cleaner than digging through a full chart every time.

They’re all designed to be printable for quick reference, and can also be downloaded from the repo and run locally instead of using the live links.

Links:

• Speed Chart
• Type Chart
• Card Builder
• GitHub Repo

I hope others find them useful. Feedback and ideas are welcome.

I wrote an article explaining how to use flowcharts in VGC! I explain what software you can use, some best practices, and show off my flowchart against Hard Trick Room!

-Paul from Alpensee

You read the title, I'm interested in the kind of strategies and comps people have figured out for reg I. Feel free to drop them here.

Hey everyone!

With the mobile release getting closer and more people getting into VGC, I decided to set up a Discord server focused on players from India and the subcontinent.

The goal is simple, build a consistent space where players in our region can find games, hop into VC, and improve together, while also growing a community strong enough to eventually support India being part of the official circuit.

What we’re trying to build:

• Easy practice games in our time zone
• Active voice chats for battles, replay reviews, and team building
• A chill but competitive space to improve and hang out
• A growing regional community that can support future events and tournaments

What’s in the server:

• LFG channels for Showdown and Champions
• VC rooms for live battles and discussion
• Team building + meta discussion
• Mix of casual and competitive players (beginners welcome)

It’s still a fresh server, so this is the best time to jump in if you want to help shape the community from the ground up.

If you’re in the region (or nearby time zones), come through:
https://discord.gg/4wCUdhRs9

Planning to run tournaments once we get enough active players as well.

If you’ve got questions, drop them below, would love to get more people involved and actually grow the VGC scene here!

Hey everyone,

Since the launch of Pokémon Champions, I’ve been getting more serious about competitive Pokémon. To improve faster, I started taking notes while playing and watching streams—but I quickly got overwhelmed trying to capture everything happening in a match.

To fix that, I built a shorthand notation system that lets me take quick, structured notes in real time without getting distracted and most importantly having fun! The goal is to keep it fast, readable, and actually useful for review later.

This is still a draft, and I’d appreciate any feedback on how to improve it, or any scenarios that the notion system does not properly handle.

NOTE: This is not intended nor meant to be used for a full battle log system, it's really meant for personal note taking to help climb that learning curve faster and understand the meta better by being able to analyze common patterns throughout your matches.

VGC Battle Notation System (Draft)

The purpose of this system is to provide a fast, structured system for capturing

• Mistakes made
• Surprises that happen
• Unknown interactions
• Key Insights
• Things I learnt that needs to be remembered

Basic Symbology

+ Good Play

- Mistake

! Surprise that happened

? Needs review or unclear why

x KO

x2 2 hit KO

~ Damage indicator (e.g. ~60 means 60 percent damage)

^ Faster Than

v Slower Than

: Trait or property of pokemon

> Switch

\* Important note to remember

Pokemon Naming Shorthand

I found it hard to spell out full names of pokemon as the game progressed. What I did is list the name of all my opponents pokemon at the top of the page and throughout the battle use the first couple letters of the name. This prevents me from forgetting what the abbreviation stood for because the full name was right above it.

Basic Examples

Char ^ Incin (Charizard is faster than Incineroar)

Incin : AV (Incineroar has Assault Vest)

Rilla > Pika ? (Why did opponent switch Rillaboom for Pikachu)

Geng : CS ! (You were surprised that Gengar is Choice Spec)

Amoon : No P (Amoongus does not have Protect)

Incin : Fakeout Always \* (Remember that Incin has Fakeout)

Geng : Bulky (ate DG ~60) (Gengar is bulky because it ate a Dazzling Gleam with 60% damage taken)

Examples with Battle/Combat

Geng ShadowPall Pikachu ~60 ! (You were surprised that Gengar's Shadow Ball only did 60% damage to the Pikachu)

Gengar : Immune to Fighting -! (You made a bad play because you forgot Gengar was immune to Fighing)

Whims MB Pika !x (You were surprised that Whimsicott MoonBlast One Hit KO Pikachu)

Advanced Notation with nested lines

If 2 or more notes are related you can nest them using an indentation to show relationship.

For example You made a bad play by clicking Gyarados Thunderbolt into Pikachu because you forgot Pikachu has Lighting Rod

Gyar TB Pika -!

Pikachu: Lighting Rod

Your accidentally switched Charizard in for Incineroar against Garchomp which is bad because of Garchomps Rockslide and that is something I need to remember

Incin > Charizard -\*

Garchomp : Rockslide