Introduction to Pokémon VGC 2017

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Welcome. With the release of Pokémon Sun & Moon, a new VGC season has come about, so I thought I write an intro to the new 2017 format, to help you understand it better. Hope you enjoy this and also learn the basics about this format. I'll be doing a separate article talking more about potential viability of the legal Pokémon we have available, but this is suppose to be designed as a more basic article. Let's begin and I hope you enjoy, but also learn something & gain a vested interest in VGC '17. Also, I plan to cover some of these topics, mainly the buffs & nerds in a separate article and the some viable Pokémon as those are major topics and could easily fill up their own individual article.

The Basic Rules - These are the basic rules of the 2017 season.
  • Double Battles (Bring 6/Pick 4)
  • Pokémon above level 50 are brought down to level 50. Pokémon under level 50 stay at there level
  • Mega Evolution is not allowed
  • Item Clause: No 2 of the same items are allowed on the same team
  • Species Clause: No 2 Pokemon of the same Pokédex number are allowed on the same team
  • All Pokémon must have the Alolan cross to be used in battle
  • Your Time: Each player has 10 minutes for each battle. If you run out of time before you knock out your opponent's Pokémon, you'll lose the battle.
Banned Pokémon: These are Pokémon that are banned from being used in the VGC 2017 competitive season. I wouldn't try to figure out how to potentially use them as this rule is set in stone until we get a new ruleset and they may not even be allowed then.
  • Pokémon not caught/bred/obtained in the Alola Region
  • Pokémon not found in the Alola Regional Pokédex
  • Certain Legendary Pokémon (i.e. Solgaleo, Lunaala, Marshadow, & Magerna)
  • Cosmog & Cosmoem are also banned
  • Certain special-event Pokémon (i.e. Ash-Greninja)
Z-Crystals: These are the new special item that was introduced in Sun & Moon. Essentially, they are a special type of item that when equipped, allows a Pokémon to use a special move that will either cause damage or boost/lower stats. Some items are exclusive to a certain Pokémon hence their name. These items can be used in battle once per trainer. Also, in order to use a z-crystal, that Pokémon needs to know a move that corresponds with the type of Z-crystal their holding. For example, if your Litten wants to use a fire type Z-crystal, then it needs to know a fire type move. I linked here with a Pastebin on the names of every single Z-move & here on what every move will turn into.

Base Stats: The new Pokémon that were introduced in the Alola Region and are now live. I made a Pastebin for this to check it out here. They look really cool, and it appears that a lot of Pokémon are slower, which looks at more of a Trick Room orientated metagame.

Hyper Training: A new feature in Pokemon Sun & Moon, this will allow you to take a Pokemon and rather than changing the IVs to a certain number you want to, you can change the individual stat number to reflect what the IV should be. This would most certainly help you perfect your Pokemon, but breeding/soft-reseting is still an amazing way to perfect the IVs you want on your Pokemon, but if you don't have the time or want to just try it, Hyper Training is a good thing. Keep in mind though that you need to level a Pokemon up to level 100 in order to use Hyper Training on a Pokemon, so don't try to hyper train a fresh, level 1 Pokemon as it won't work.

Helpful VGC Resources: There are some amazing VGC Resources, but I'll link a pastebin here that has every VGC resource I recommend. From YouTube channels to websites to Twitch channels, these are all amazing resources and I recommend at least checking them out.

Where to find an event to compete in: By heading to this link, you can enter the correct info and it'll show you every event within the 250mi /402km radius that'll show you all official events. If you see an event on another website like a Facebook page or on the general internet that advertises competing in an official VGC tournament for CP, but isn't on the list, it probably isn't an official event and I wouldn't advising competing unless you really want to.

The Road to Worlds: The road to the World Championships is pretty simple. Down below are all events you can compete in and how to compete in them. Each event offers Championship Points, which are the points you'll use to earn an invite to the World Championships at the end of each season. You can read here on the CP you can potentially earn from these events.

  1. Premier Challenges: These are entry level events you can compete in. They offer a small amount of CP, but are a good way to practice and meet others in your local community.
  2. International Challenge: These are online, worldwide tournaments that go from Friday to Sunday. They're a good way to test a team against a wide variety of players and teams
  3. Midseason Showdowns: These are slightly larger events that focus more on a larger event and a slightly larger CP payout. 
  4. Regionals: These are large events with a great CP payout. They allow you to compete against many other players. The are a great way to rack up CP and make getting a Worlds invite easier
  5. Continental Championships: These are very large events that allow you to compete against the best players in the country/region. The winner of this event has a lot of skill at this game, which will explain while the competition is so strong.
  6. World Championships: The best in the world will gather to this event to compete for the title. Whoever manages to come out on top and win has amazing skill and talent in this game and will 100% deserve the accomplishment.
Tapu Pokemon: These are all Tapu Pokemon that were introduced in Pokemon Sun and Moon
  • Tapu Koko
  • Tapu Bulu
  • Tapu Fini
  • Tapu Lele

Alolan Pokemon: These are the new Kanto Pokemon that went to the Alolan Region and because of this, developed a new form and changed their appearance
  • Alolan Rattata & Alolan Raticate
  • Alolan Raichu
  • Alolan Sandshew & Alolan Sandslash
  • Alolan Vulpix & Alolan Ninetales
  • Alolan Diglett & Alolan Dugtrio
  • Alolan Meowth & Alolan Persian
  • Alolan Geodude, Alolan Graveler, & Alolan Golem
  • Alolan Grimer & Alolan Muk
  • Alolan Exeggutor
  • Alolan Marowak

Weather Setters: In VGC 2017, these are the Pokemon that have the ability to set up weather
  • Rain: Politoed & Pelipper
  • Sand: Gigalith
  • Sun: Torkoal
  • Hail: Vanilluxe & Alolan Ninetales

Terrain Setters: These are the Terrain setters who can set up a terrain with their ability
  • Electric Terrain: Tapu Koko
  • Grassy Terrain: Tapu Bulu
  • Misty Terrain: Tapu Fini
  • Psychic Terrain: Tapu Lele

What to do with this knowledge: Now that you know all this, here's what you can do with it
  • Enjoy playing Pokemon Sun and Moon. Its an amazing game and when your playing it, just enjoy the experience
  • Build/test teams on Pokemon Showdown, as well as the in-game official VGC ladder that was just introduced.
  • Start/continue your path to the World Championships in August
I hope you enjoy this. This will be a fun year for VGC and I hope you'll compete in it. I'll see you guys in the next article, but I do hope you'll check out my older content. It has some helpful information that can be pretty useful. I'll see you guys next time. Bye!

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