Introduction / Beginners, Start Here

If you enjoy any part of catching Pokémon in the games-- breeding, shiny hunting, catching Pokémon in cool Poke Balls, or mark hunting-- those skills are all useful for a VGC player. Aaron, Wolfe, and I actually all started out with Pokémon breeding trading-shops way back in the day! Many VGC players catch Pokémon with cool accoutrements to show off on the ladder or when they head to a big tournament. Here’s our tips for how you can go from catching enthusiast to VGC battler. 

Get your favorites battle-ready

As of Pokémon Sword and Shield, a trainer will make any transferred Pokémon from an old generation “battle-ready”, which means that you can compete with it. We’ve seen people win with their favorite Pokémon from Ruby and Sapphire, games released in 2002! We have a guide for getting your transferred Pokémon ready for battle here, but do know that the process will remove any of their special egg or transfer moves– you can only use moves that that Pokémon can learn in the most recent Pokémon generation.

If you have a special Pokémon you want to build around, that’s great! We have a guide to figuring out the best way to use a Pokémon competitively. Although some Pokémon might be easier to win with than others, you can make a team based around any Pokémon.

It’s easier than ever to train new competitive Pokémon

Pokémon Sword and Shield make it much, much easier than past games to take any Pokémon and get it ready for battle. No matter how long it takes you to hatch eggs or go through raid dens to find a shiny, training that Pokémon to be usable in competitive Pokémon will take a fraction of the time. Check out our guide on training your Pokémon competitively to learn more. 

Start with the staples

There are certain Pokémon that will be useful in lots of VGC formats, and if you start with these Pokémon first, you’ll save a lot of time when it’s time to make a team. Check out the usage stats to see some of the Pokémon that appear a lot of times across different formats to get some ideas.

Be ready to change things up 

VGC formats change quickly-- in the Sword and Shield era, the format will change every 2 or 3 months. This means that you’ll pretty constantly want new Pokémon on your team or to train your old Pokémon in new ways (click here for a guide). There are always more Pokémon to breed, catch, and train up!

Conclusion

Seeing the Pokémon you caught fight in a live competition is a rewarding feeling. When you play VGC, there will always be more Pokémon to breed, catch, customize, and train. Give VGC a try and use your Pokémon to rise to the top!