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DOUBLE BATTLES GUIDE
Introduction
- What is 2v2 Battling?
- Techincal Details
- Pros and Cons
- Version History
Strategy
- Offensive Attacks
- Defensive Attacks
- Abilities (General)
- Abilities (with Skills)
- Leveling
Pokemon
- Sample Teams
- Contributed Teams
Credits
Conclusion
2v2 Battling is a new and unique style of battling that was introduced by Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. This new aspect involves twice as many pokemon used in the older versions. In other words, its a 2 on 2 mayhem that includes more fun, more battle time, and much much much more strategy. No matter what you call it... 2v2 Battling, Double Dueling, etc, it still has the same meaning.
Much of the technical details in a regular also apply to double battles. When deciding which Pokemon goes first, the game will use the same proceedure - check the action (Attack or Switch), check the move priority (eg, Quick Attack first, then Tackle), then check for Speed (eg, Ninjask is faster than Snorlax). All four Pokemon are then ordered accordingly and their turns executed in the specified order. Differences arise with actual move execution, move effects and damage calculation.
Targetting: Certain moves will target different Pokemon. There are six categories depending on which Pokemon are affected:
- All (All four Pokemon are affected, eg Perish Song)
- Single target (One Pokemon out of the three others are affected, including your partner Pokemon, eg Bite)
- Both opponents (The two opposing Pokemon are affected, eg Surf)
- Everyone else (The three remaining Pokemon are affected, eg Earthquake)
- Reaction (The Pokemon who attacked the user last, eg Counter)
- User (The Pokemon who used the move, eg Swords Dance)
Effects: Certain moves change their effects when in double battles. For example, Follow Me in a single battle does nothing, while in a double battle, it forces the opponents to attack the user.
Damage: This applies to moves that affect both opponents only. Instead of causing normal damage to both Pokemon (as if you did the move to one opponent, then did the move again to the other opponent), the damage is reduced by 1/3. So in other words, instead of the total damage to the opponents being 2x, it is only 4/3x, with 2/3x being dealt to each opponent.
Pros: Longer Battles (or Shorter, depends on how you react to the battle), More Strategy, and More Fun!
Cons: None, unless you don't like 2v2 Battles
Version 1.0: Main Guide added to forum
Version 1.5: Added Version History, General Abilities, Better Organization, and Color
Version 2.0: Added Credits, Contributed Teams, and Spelling Corrections
Version 2.5: Added Much more Contributed Teams and a few minor Spelling Corrections
Here are some Offensive Attacks that do damage to both opposing opponents well in 2v2 Battles...
Acid - Has 10% chance of lowering both enemies' defense by 1 level
Air Cutter - High chance for a critical hit
Blizzard - Has 10% chance of causing freeze
Bubble - Has 10% chance of reducing enemies' speed by 1 level
Earthquake - Inflicts damage to all Pokemon except user on the field
Eruption - Inflicts less damage if your HP is lower
Explosion - Damage all Pokemon and causes user to faint
Heat Wave - Has 10% chance of causing burn
Hyper Voice - Regular damaging skill
Icy Wind - Lowers enemies' speed by 1 level
Magnitude - Damages all pokemon on field except user
Muddy Water - Has 30% chance of lowering enemies' accuracy by 1 level
Powder Snow - Has 10% chance of causing freeze
Razor Leaf - Has high chance for a critical hit
Razor Wind - 2 step attack that damages both enemy Pokemon
Rock Slide - Causes enemies to flinch
Sandstorm - Damages all pokemon unless they are Rock/Ground/Steel types
Selfdestruct - See Explosion
Spikes - Damages any enemy Pokemon that comes switching in
Surf - Basic water-based attack that damages both enemies
Swift - Normal-based attack that ignores accuracy and evade modifiers
Teeter Dance - Causes all Pokemon on field to be confused except user
Twister - Has 20% chance of causing flinch
Water Spout - Water-based attack that does less damage if HP is low
Here are some Defensive skills that can help out in 2v2 Battles...
Aromatherapy - Heals all status aliments in your party
Destiny Bond - Causes enemy to faint if user faints
Growl - Lowers both enemie's defense 1 level
Haze - Returns you and your enemies' stats to normal
Mud Sport - Lowers power of all electric-based attacks
Perish Song - Causes user and one enemy to faint in 3 turns
Rain Dance - Changes weather that raises power of water-based attacks
Roar - Returns enemy's stats to normal by switching it out
Safeguard - Prevents stat reduction to team for 5 turns
Spit Up - Inflicts damage by the usage of Stockpile
Stockpile - Stores power for either Spit Up or Swallow
Sunny Day - Chances weather that raises the power of fire-based attacks
Swallow - Restores HP by the usage of Stockpile
Tail Whip - Lowers both enemies' defense 1 level
Water Sport - Lowers power of all fire-based attacks
Wish - Replenishes HP the next turn, effect can be transfered by switching
Whirlwind - See Roar
Here I will explain some Abilities that can be helpful in 2v2 battling along with ratings from 1 (Least) to 5 (Most) stars that what I think are somewhat accurate...
Air Lock - Prevents Pokemon from being affected by weather during battle. I am not sure, but I think only Rayquaza has this ability. This is good and bad. Good because you won't be affected. Bad since you need an extra power boost.
**
Arena Trap - Prevents foe from switching or escaping. Not effective against Flying and Pokemon with Levitate. This is a really nifty ability. Lots of Pokemon that have Explosion or Selfdestruct can easily pick off enemies if they try to run.
****
Blaze - Multiplies power of Pokemon's fire-type attacks by 1.5 when its HP falls below 1/3 its maximum. Great when combined with Sunny Day and a skill that adds to Special Attack.
***
Chlorophyll - Doubles a Pokemon's speed when sunlight is out. If you have a grass-based team, this would really help out for you, since only grass pokemon have this ability.
***
Cloud Nine - Prevents weather influence on all Pokemon in battle. Ohhh... this one is an eye-opener. With no pokemon being affected by weather, Physical Sweepers can rule the field.
*****
Color Change - Changes Pokemon's type to match type of a move that hits it. Only for Kecleon I assume. Wonderful skill, especially for defesive purposes. Too bad its only for Kecleon.
****
Compoundeyes - Increases accuracy by 30%. This is an okay ability. Mainly used to increase the chance of hitting with low-accuracy moves, such as Thunder and Zap Cannon.
**
Cute Charm - Attracts opponent Pokemon 30% of the time when opponent strikes Pokemon. Glorious one here. Can affect many of the opposite gender pokemon. Hehe, built in Attract. Good news for those people that like Parattractafusion.
****
Damp - Prevents all Pokemon in battle from using Selfdestruct or Explosion. Good and Bad again. Good because you won't get hurt by them. Bad since you can't use the skills as well.
***
Drizzle - Changes weather to rain during battle. Good for water and lightning pokemon, but bad for fire. Depends on your style.
***
Drought - Changes weather to sunlight during battle. Again... Good for fire and grass pokemon, bad for water. Depends again.
***
Effect Spore - Afflicts opponent Pokemon with a Poison, Paralyze, or Sleep condition 10% of the time when it attacks Pokemon directly. Can be used to your advantage if you are willing to take 10% of the change.
**
Flame Body - Afflicts opponent Pokemon with Burn condition 30% when it attacks Pokemon directly. Same as Effect Spore, except its Burn and its 30% of the time.
**
Flash Fire - Prevents fire damage from fire-type attacks and increases power of Pokemon's fire-type attacks. Can be a fire Pokemon's best friend. Try to handle it though in a 2v2 Battle.
***
Forecast - Changes Pokemon to a form an type thats connected to weather (sunlight=Fire, rain=Water, hail=Ice). Only a skill Castform can use. I guess it is alright. Kind of cool though if you have a team of Castforms, hahaha.
***
Huge Power - Increases power of Pokemon's attack. I would say another one of Physical Sweeper's best friend. Use to your advantage against those pesky tanks.
***
Hustle - Multiplies power of Pokemon's attack by 1.5, but Accuracy is reduced to 80%. Same as Huge Power, except you become like Bowser and are slow as hell.
***
Immunity - Prevents Pokemon from getting a Poison condition. Mainly used to counter Poison Point, but I guess you can use it generally to block Poisoning skills.
***
Inner Focus - Prevents Pokemon from flinching. Oh, now here is a good one. I usually get pissed cuz when I start to do a big skill, like Solarbeam, I always get interupted by damn flinching.
****
Insomnia - Prevents Pokemon from getting a Sleep condition. Absolutely wonderful. If you are put to sleep, Dream Eater can, well, eat you. Great for stopping that annoying Sing move.
****
Intimidate - Reduces the opponent's attack power. Not very special here, although it does save you quite a few Hit Points when a Physical Sweeper attacks you.
**
Keen Eye - Protects Pokemon from Accuracy reduction. Not really special either. I usually counter with Sand-Attack.
*
Levitate - Prevents Pokemon from getting struck by Ground-type attacks. Pretty good defensive skill, especially when a pokemon uses Earthquake, since it is one of the most powerful Ground-type attacks in the game.
****
Lightningrod - Draws Electric-type attacks away from partner to Pokemon when it's in a 2v2 battle. Awesome defensive skill. Used to block all Lightning attacks from the Pokemon's partner. Use to your advantage if you have a Flying or Water type as the Pokemon's partner.
*****
Magma Armor - Prevents Pokemon from getting an Ice condition. Not many people use Ice-type skills, but better to be safe than sorry. I guess it can be used against Icebeam.
***
Magnet Pull - Prevents Steel-type opponents from escaping. Great against all Steel-types, although there aren't that many. Anyway, great when you use a fire-skill, since, duh, steel pokemon are there.
****
Minus - Multiplies Special Attack by 1.5 when positively charge Pokemon is also in battle. Only for Minun. Used okay when with Plusle, since he is the only one with positive charge (Plus).
***
Natural Cure - Cures a Pokemon's status condition when the Pokemon is withdrawn from battle. Good, but can be countered many ways (Mean Look, Arena Trap, Magnet Pull).
**
Oblivious - Prevents Pokemon from becoming attracted. Use to your advantage if you are the opposite gender. Since they can't attract you, you can attract them! Hehe.
***
Overgrow - Multiplies power of Grass-tpye attacks by 1.5 when its HP falls below 1/3 maximum. Same as Blaze.
***
Own Tempo - Prevents Pokemon from getting a Confuse condition. Good from those who get irritated when confuse makes their pokemon attack themselves or their partner.
***
Plus - Multiplies Special Attack power by 1.5 when positively charged Pokemon is also in battle. Only for Plusle. Use with Minun, since he is the only negatively charged pokemon in the game.
***
Poison Point - Afflicts opponent Pokemon with a Poison condition 30% of the time when it attacks Pokemon directly. Great if you want to annoy Physical Sweepers, hahaha.
****
Pure Power - Increases power of Pokemon's attack. Same as Huge Power.
***
Rain Dish - Recovers HP every turn when its raining during battle. Can be used mainly to heal, but also can be countered with other abilites (Air Lock and Cloud Nine).
***
Rough Skin - Causes opponent's HP to decrease when opponent attacks Pokemon directly. Same as Poison Point, used to annoy Physical attackers.
***
Sand Stream - Summons a sandstorm during battle. I do not know if this one exists, but I read it someplace else. Anyway, great if you have a Rock, Ground, or Steel type, since they are immune.
****
Sand Veil - Allows Pokemon to evade moves more easily during sandstorms. A really narrow-chanced skill here. You have to have a sandstorm in, but it is good generally speaking.
**
Shadow Tag - Prevents foe from changing Pokemon or escaping. Just like Mean Look and Arena Trap, haha, I love these skills. Use to assassinate enemies when they are trying to leave.
****
Shed Skin - Gives a Pokemon a 30% chance of curing is status conditions every turn. Great for those that hate status aliments. Too bad not many Pokemon have it.
****
Shield Dust - Shields pokemon from the additional effects of moves. Great if you do not know which ones they are. For example: Water Pulse has a chance to confuse.
***
Soundproof - Frees Pokemon from Grasswhistle, Growl, Heal Bell, Hyper Voice, Metal Sound, Perish Song, Roar, Screech, Sing, Snore, Supersonic, and Uproar. Greatest anti-sound ability ever. Luckily, only Whismur, Loudred and Exploud have them.
****
Speed Boost - Increases Pokemon's Speed every turn. Good if you want to look like a blur, especially Ninjask, since he is the speed god that can topple over 400 speed points.
***
Static - Afflicts opponent Pokemon with a Paralyze condition 30% of the time when it attacks Pokemon directly. Same as Poison Point, used for annoyance.
***
Sturdy - Shields Pokemon from attacks that knock out the pokemon in one hit. Cool!
****
Suction Cups - Prevents Pokemon from swapping out when the opponent Pokemon uses Whirlwind or Roar. It is like an anti-psuedo-hazer skill, only if you want to stay in battle though.
***
Swarm - Multiplies power of Bug-type attacks by 1.5 when its HP falls below 1/3 its maximum. Same as Overgrow and Blaze.
***
Swift Swim - Doubles the Pokemon's Speed when it's raining in battle. Fun if you like Water pokemon. Use with Rain Dance or Drizzle to make the most of it.
**
Synchronize - Causes opponent Pokemon that inflicts a Poison, Paralyze, or Burn condition to receive the same condition. Fun for torture. Muhahaha!
****
Thick Fat - Reduces damage by half when Pokemon is attacked by Fire or Ice attacks. Okay defensively, especially for Special Sweepers (curse you Gardevoir).
****
Torrent - Multiplies power of Water-type attacks by 1.5 when its HP is below 1/3 its maximum. Same as Overgrow and Swarm.
***
Trace - Duplicates ability that opponent Pokemon has. Ohhhhh... Probably my favorite ability. It is like a Ditto, copies anything! Just think of it, Color Change, Wonder Guard, and Drizzle. Sounds cool!
*****
Vital Spirit - Prevents Pokemon from getting a Sleep condition. Same as Insomnia.
****
Volt Absorb - Restores Pokemon's HP when Pokemon is attacked by Electric-type attacks. Kind of like Lightningrod, except you benefit instead of getting hurt.
***
Water Veil - Prevents Pokemon from getting a Burn condition. Same as Magma Armor.
***
White Smoke - Prevents opponent's moves from reducing Pokemon's stats. Great for defensive purposes, especially against those annoyers that lower your defense and attack down.
****
Wonder Guard - Prevents all damage except from "super effective" hits. Well, the ability says it all. It is wonderful! Great for any pokemon to use, sadly, only one can use it. Shedinja is the only one that can have the glory. Anyway, still a good defensive skill.
*****
Here are some Abilities that can be combined with certain attacks to do far greater results than a regular attack...
Arena Trap - Explosion, Selfdestruct, Perish Song, Destiny Bond
Blaze - Any Fire-based attack
Chlorophyll - Sunny Day
Cloud Nine - Only used to counter Castform
Compoundeyes - Thunder, Zap Cannon, Tri-Attack
Cute Charm - Any Paralyzing and Confusing skills
Damp - Used Defensively against Selfdestruct and Explosion
Drizzle - See Rain Dance
Drought - See Sunny Day
Flash Fire - Any Water move
Forecast - See the main Webpage about Castform
Inner Focus - Defensive skill that is used with a King's Rock
Levitate - Any Ground attack, especially Earthquake
Lightningrod - Used to protect partner from Electric-based moves
Liquid Ooze - Any Poisoning moves
Magnet Pull - Any Fire or Fightning-based attacks
Minus - Used with Plusle
Natural Cure - Recover, Rest, and Wish
Oblivious - Attract
Overgrow - Any Water-based attack
Plus - Used with Minun
Poison Point - Any Parazlying and Confusing attacks
Rain Dish - Used with Rain Dance or Drizzle
Rough Skin - Toxic
Sand Stream - See Sandstorm
Sand Veil - Used with Sand Stream or Sandstorm
Speed Boost - Agility, Double-Team, Mud-Slap, and Sand-Attack
Suction Cups - Prevents the effects of Whirlwind and Roar
Swift Swim - Used with Rain Dance or Drizzle
Torrent - Any Water-based attack
Wonder Guard - Agility, Double-Team, Mud-Slap, and Sand-Attack
There is great questioning (at me) on where to level/practice for 2v2 Battles. If you do not know, Interviewers Gabby & Ty are wonderful for gaining levels and practicing your moves on. They are good for 4 reason: They have no strategy. Their pokemon are weak. Their pokemon never go above level 39. But best of all... You can battle them as many times as you want! This comes very much in handy, especially if you are trying to raise low level Pokemon.
Your first encounter with Gabby and Ty are east of Lavaridge Town. Fly to Lavaridge Town and ride your bike east and a little bit down Route 111. You should find them there. Once you defeat them, go to Mauville City and heal. Then, go east again until you find the river. Surf across the river and you should find them again. When you are done, Fly to Fortree City and head east again. And yes, you have to walk through the city first. Once you exit the city, head east on Route 120, and you should encounter them again. From then on, you can repeat from going to Lavaridge, Mauville, and Fortree to battle more.
NOTE: If they are not at an area you visit, they are probably at the next location.
Many people from the forums have contributed sample teams. Take a look at them here.
Here are the given credits to the forum members that have contributed to the guide...
Team Contributions: psycho_freak, Mr. Saturn, Kari Kagome & Mewtwo, leet for, Venumeleon, Groudon King, sN0wBaLL, papersun, Achilles, Water Pokemon Master
Moveset/Team Strategy Information: psycho_freak
Time Consumption Information: Kari Kagome & Mewtwo
Ability Complication Information: leet for
NOTE: I am still looking for teams that include RSE pokemon. Alot of the Pokemon in the Teams that are getting contributed are from RBY. Also, I am looking for some good and interesting Teams that include many Pokemon that have unique traits. For example... A team with Castform... Sign up at the forums and make a contribution!
This concludes my guide to 2v2 Battling. Thanks to psycho_freak for some great ideas on my teams and for sending in very thought-out teams by himself, and thanks to those that helped out with movesets.
NOTE: If you want to suggest a Sample Team, please do so, but please add the two Pokemon, their abilities, moveset, and a brief description on how they are a good team. If you must, use my Blaziken/Roselia team as an example.
Hope this guide helped.
~ Dr.DoubleDuel
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