Competitive Pokémon has a huge amount of useful resources when it comes to learning the basics, stepping up your game knowledge and becoming the very best. However, determining what to read, where to learn and who can be trusted is a hard task.
With over 3 years of experience providing the community with the best resources available, Victory Road has created a handful hub with all needed for both newcomers, returning players and even those at the top.
The Essentials
Our Resources
First steps in VGC
- Competitive Glossary for Beginners
Learn the common words and slang used by competitive Pokémon VGC players and commentators. Get used to these words, you will hear them everywhere! - Prepare for trouble, and make it double! – Key differences between Single and Double Battles
If this is your first time playing Doubles, this is a must to read! Get to know the basic rules and mechanics followed in VGC formats, which are quite different from what you’re used to. - VGC 2020 Sample and Rental Teams for Pokémon Sword and Shield
Jump into the VGC action with our Rental Teams for Pokémon Sword & Shield Pokémon! No need to breed or train, just click and play! - 2020 Play! Pokémon Season Structure
All information on the 2020 Play! Pokémon season structure, events and CP payouts — in one page! - VGC Events for the 2020 Season
All major events (Regionals, Special Events and Internationals) across the globe for the 2020 Play! Pokémon season.
Player's Psychology
- Player’s Psychology: Subjective interpretation of the situation in competitive Pokémon
Psychologist and veteran player Ruben Yanguas addresses how situational positioning and Beck’s Cognitive Theory apply to Pokémon VGC matches.
Useful links & tools
Tools
- Play! Pokémon VGC20 Team List (fillable)
Find the updated team list for all Play! Pokémon events in an easy and comfortable format that allows you to fill them with your .pdf reader. - Pokémon Showdown!
Battle Simulator allowing you to practice and test your teams without the need to breed them. - Damage Calc from Pikalytics
Useful tool allowing you to check and know how much damage an attack does to your Pokémon and how much your attacks do. - Survival Calc from Trainer Tower
Pro version of the Damage Calc allowing you to find the best EV combination to match your desired benchmarks when creating a spread. - Pikalytics
Website compiling Usage Stats from both Pokémon Showdown! and Pokémon Global Link. - Team Builder (by Gabby Snyder)
Tool allowing you to check the type chart of your teams. - Team Sheet Generator (by Jake White)
Paste your teams in Showdown format to obtain an official team sheet version of them ready to bring to your next event.
Websites
| Website | Language |
|---|---|
| Smogon VGC | English |
| Trainer Tower | English |
| Nimbasa City Post | English |
| r/vgc | English |
| RyunaDB | Korean & English |
| VGC Asia | English |
| Pokétrainers Trujillo | Spanish |
| Liberty Note | Japanese |
Content Creators
| Creator | Platforms | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Zheng |   | English |
| Wolfe Glick | | English |
| Lee Provost | | English |
| Ray Rizzo | | English |
| James Baek | | English |
| Giovanni Costa | | English |
| Victory Road | | Spanish & English |
| Alex Gómez | | Spanish & English |
| Sekiam | | Spanish |
| Blessur | | Spanish |
| Koffing Sonriente | | Spanish |
| Carfer97 | | Spanish |
| Haricot TV | | French |
| Francesco Pardini | | Italian |
