Competitive Battle Guide

Competitive Ranked Battles will require you to be well versed with the best abilities, items, and Pokemon to choose to succeed in the Gen 9 Metagame. Read on to see our Competitive Ranked Battle Guides for competitive battling as well as useful tips for battling in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV)!

All Competitive Guides

Team Building Guides

Competitive Team Building for Singles Ranked Battle

Our guide discusses the basics of competitive Team Building for Singles. Several factors go into choosing Pokemon for your team which we highlight in our guide.

Competitive Team Building for Singles Ranked Battle

Competitive Team Building for Doubles Ranked Battle

Doubles is a gameplay format that has you and your opponent sending out two Pokemon on the field at the same time. Our guide discusses the basics of competitive Team Building for Doubles and what important factors there are to consider when choosing Pokemon for your team.

Competitive Team Building for Doubles Ranked Battle

How to Build a Trick Room Team

Trick Room reverses the move order in the battlefield. Under this effect, slower Pokemon move before normally faster Pokemon.

Dedicated teams made up of slower Pokemon can take advantage of this unique battle effect to establish an offensive presence while also hindering the opposing team. In our guide, we go into detail about how to build teams centered aroung Trick Room.

How to Build a Trick Room Team

How to Build a Weather Team

First introduced in Generation II and further expanded in Generation III, Weather is widely considered the most influential mechanic in the competitive battling. Some teams have strategies centered aroung Weather, which we highlight in our guide.

How to Build a Weather Team

How to Build an Offensive Team

Better known as Hyper Offense, these teams eschew dedicated defensive strategies for pure offense. Check out our guide to learn about which Pokemon go into Hyper Offense teams and how to play them.

How to Build an Offensive Team

Paradox Pokemon Builds

Paradox Pokemon's dominance in the current metagame isn't solely due to their high stats but also to their ease of use, on top of how easy it is to build a team around them.

Best Paradox Pokemon Builds for Ranked Battle

Treasures of Ruin Builds

The Treasures of Ruin are powerful Pokemon that will push teams to adapt to increasingly hyper offense strategies.

Their power isn't solely due to their high stats but also to their Abilities which debuff a stat for the opposing Pokemon.

Best Treasures of Ruin Builds for Ranked Battle

HOME Transfer Pokemon Builds

A lot of the returning Pokemon have amazing history in VGC and competitive doubles, with many filling the role of offensive leads, wall breakers, and all-out-attackers.

Pokemon from Hisui have made an impact in Regulation D, with their amazing stats and movepool being nothing to scoff at.

Best HOME Transfer Pokemon Builds for Ranked Battle

Competitive Battling Explained

Best Abilities for Competitive Battle

Certain Abilities do exceptionally well in Competitive Battles. These Abilities are detailed in our Best Abilities for Ranked Battle guide, as well as how to effectively use them in battle.
Best Abilities for Ranked Battle

Best Held Items for Competitive Battle

Choosing the right Held Items are just as important as choosing your Pokemon's movesets and Abilities. Having the proper Held Item can turn the tides of battle.

Best Held Items for Ranked Battle

When to Switch Pokemon

Switching is an integral part of Pokemon Battles. Knowing when to switch can help you get out of disadvantageous situations and reposition you into advantageous ones. In our Switching Guide we have an in-depth discussion on strategic switching.
Switching Guide: When to Switch Pokemon

Which Pokemon to Choose on Team Preview

Selecting which Pokemon to bring to battle can often decide the winners of a match. Using Team Preview, you can choose which Pokemon to bring to a match. Several factors determine Pokemon selection, all of which are detailed in our Team Preview Guide.

Team Preview: Which Pokemon to Choose?

How to Use Substitute in Competitive Play

Substitute uses some of your Pokemon's maximum HP to generate a Substitute which receives damage instead of your Pokemon. There are several strategic applications for this move which we go into in our Substitute Guide.

How to Use Substitute in Competitive Play

List of Competitive Battling Terms

Competitive Pokemon can be complicated to understand at times, which can hinder some players from getting into it. The Game8 Team have compiled a list of useful terms that every player should know, which should help ease beginners into learning the game.

List of Competitive Battling Terms

Battle Timer

Ever wondered who will win in a competitive match when the timer runs out? There are many factors that go into who is declared the winner of match, which we talk about in our Battle Timer Article.

Battle Timer: Who Wins When Time Runs Out?

New DLC Competitive Cores and Matchups

The Teal Mask and Indigo Disk DLC are sure to shake up the competitive Pokemon metagame! We speculate on what may be good in future Regulation formats when New and Returning Pokemon return to the mix!

New DLC Competitive Cores and Matchups

Related Guides

Game8 Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Wiki Front

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